Adaptation

[radikill]

The Skinny
Charlie Kaufman, a real-life screenwriter, tries to adapt a book called "The Orchid Thief" for the screen. But the book doesn't translate well, and Charlie's stumped... until he starts writing a screenplay about Charlie Kaufman trying to adapt "The Orchid Thief" for the screen.

The Good
Adaptation is, quite simply, the most original film to come out in 2002. It's probably the most original film made in this still-young 21st century. Charlie Kaufman's screenplay twists around and folds in on itself like 4-dimensional origami, and director Spike Jonez confidently provides the visuals to what must have - on paper - seemed nearly impossible to film.

Kudos to the actors as well. Nicholas Cage does an amazing job as Charlie and his twin brother Donald. Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper are fantastic in supporting roles.

The Bad
Occasionally, the film throws around details and angles for seemingly no other reason than to scream out "Look at how clever I am". Plus, some of the jokes are a little too inside for us non-Hollywood types (why should I care who Robert McKee is?). And then there's that infamous last half-hour... I got it. I understand what Kaufman and Jonez were doing and giggled all through it. But did it have to stretch out that long to make its point?

Overall
Definitely a must-see flick, but pay attention or you'll be completely lost when that final act rolls around.

8/10

[PorcheRacer]

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ADAPATION is a wonderful, clever and original film. Charlie Kauffman and Spike Jonze did a great job, the script was brilliant and full of in-jokes and blending real life people with fictional characters and the directing was very well done. Nicolas Cage, was one of my favorite actors, then he started doing crap, but now he's back. He handled the dual role of Charlie & Donald Kauffman perfectly. He made them so different, just by their expressions, voices and physical manners, you could tell them apart even without different hair and make up.

The supporting cast was great too, although I wasn't that impressed by Meryl Streep. She played the part and that was it. Chris Cooper on the other hand, went above and beyond and delivered a fantastic performance. He totally inhabited John Laroche.

It is a near perfect movie. Some parts were a bit slow and I didn't feel for Meryl Streep's charater. Sometimes she came off as a bitch, but that's just me. Also, while the 3rd act was clever it came off as a little over the top. This would have been a perfect 10/10 if it was trimmed a bit and toned down during the 3rd act.

One other thing, what's the deal with people claiming the end was confusing? There wasn't anything confusing about it. I think some people got mixed up about the movie and real life.

My favorite scene would have to be near the end, when Charlie calls his mother. It was so well done and sad, it was perfect. The whole movie was absolutely fantastic and I'm going to buy it right away so I can watch it over and over.

9/10

[PorcheRacer]

Double Post...

[BrentLumkin]

Here are my thoughts on the movie overall, and the 3rd act specificily...

I watched this film as soon as it came out in theaters, and I loved it. I'll even go as far to say that it's one of my favorite's of all time, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. From the opening monolague I felt a very specific connection with the character. I am an aspiring screenwriter myself, and I could really relate to this film. I felt as if he was describing me, this film was, in ways, ABOUT me. Even his statement about the "thing on his leg" is me, it almost scared me actually. When it was all said and done, I was left with a sense of having learned something. I felt as if the film opened my eyes, as to what and how I need to get things done in my own personal life. Any time a film opens my eyes, and actually in a way CHANGES my life, I am instantly in love with said film, forever.

As for the 3rd Act, I thought it was obvious what was going on, but that's just me. I saw the character of Donald being revealed to be nothing more than Charlie's creation of an alter personality. He created Donald in order to feel as if he is living his life as he wants to live, as his escape from his hellish reality. All through the film, it was obvious that he actually WANTED to be as Donald was, and in the end, he became him. With Donald's death, Charlie finally found himself, and became whom he always yearned to be. I think this for various undertones throughout the entire movie, the phone conversation Charlie had with his mom at the end of the film, and the conversation he had with Valerie at the table, when he said "I miss him", and she asked "who?" and looked very confused. Hell, even Donald's idea for his screenplay insists that what we are seeing in their actual world is his idea being reality between the two brothers. Charlie told Donald that it couldn't be filmed and make sense, but in this movie, Adaptation, they did film it. The end where Donald gets out of the car, while Charlie is somewhere else, doesn't make sense with this idea, but that's the thing. Charlie wrote in that scene (which I feel was his script we were seeing, as described in a moment) because it was really his idea in the first place, and was just trying to get it to work somehow. It may not make sense, but it got the job done, lol.

I also feel that just about everything from around the moment Charlie met with Robert McKee or the moment that Charlie called Donald to come to New York, was nothing more than the script that Charlie was writing being played on OUR screen. As McKee said, you have to find an ending, and I feel that what we were actually seeing, was the ending to Charlie's screenplay. That explains the sudden change in tone and dirrection, obviously. We know that Charlie began in write everyone he knows into his script, and I feel we were just being shown that for ourselves, if that makes any sense to you.

...so there ya go, that's my opinions and thoughts on this film, one HELL of a film, one for the ages, a TRUE classic in my eyes.

[El Bracamonti]

great movie. nic cage is hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 8/10

[bob]

As a screenwriter myself, this film was a hilarious trip, but I'm sure it was for any intelligent film lover anyway. I won't go into the good and bad, just that I give this film an A, and thought Nicolas Cage was robbed of an Oscar for this film. I mean, he makes two characters seem drastically different just by the way they act. They don't use any gimmicks to tell them apart, you just somehow always know.

Final Grade: A

[Mike]

ADAPTATION (2002)


Adaptation was "interesting," and that word sums it up perfectly. I just didn't LOVE it. I wasn't bored or anything, and I didn't even mind when it turned into a thriller. I don't think I could really say any flaws it had, at least not off the top of my head. It just didn't blow me away or connect to me in any way. Not bad, pretty decent actually, but that's pretty much all I feel about it.

Grade: 6/10 (B-)

[ilovemovies]

I LOVED this movie. It's #6 on my top 10 list of 2002. It's fantastic. Brilliantly acted (Nicolas Cage should have best actor instead of Adrien Brody even though he was excellent), original and simply hilarious. At first when I first saw the movie I wasn't crazy about the ending. But it has grown on me. I now like it. Overall, great flick. MUCH better than the overrated and overpraised Being John Malkovich.

* * * 1/2 ( out of * * * * )

[Fisting Ackbar]

Spoilers, highlight to read.

It was ingenious to come up with this bizarre whacked out ending after Brian Cox tells Cage to wow the audience with an ending. Only problem I had was that the last 20 minutes were a little too weird for my taste. Other than that, good film.

[The Delfonics]

Adaptation - (7/10)

I finally got around to seeing this much talked about film and I have to say it was a very clever and somewhat inspiring film. However, in the end the film never excited me enough to call it great. Cage does a great job making himself seem like two totally different people and I actually enjoyed Streep for once. The story was really creative and it actually helped me understand some stuff about screenwriting that I am now using. Despite the originality and cleverness the story boasted I really cant say I cared for how it all played out at the end (and the irony of the Deus Ex Machina finish) but recommend it.

[MovieMan75]

10/10, A.

My fourth favorite film ever.

[urbanlegend23]

ADAPTATION (2002)

THE GOOD:

--The characters in this film are completely three-dimensional and fully intriguing. I was completely immersed in each of their stories. The thing is that they have flaws, they have bad points, they make mistakes, doubt themselves, can be arrogant, rude, selfish, mean. All of this…it doesn't matter. The point of the film is not to LIKE the characters. The point of the film is see them grow as their journeys go on. Our main character, Charlie Kaufman (writer of "Being John Malkovich") is a self-loathing, lazy insomniac with writers' block. His way of moving, thinking, his nervousness and self-doubt are character traits that are not only plausibly portrayed but also completely relatable to the audience members, well it was to me at least. Donald Kaufman, his twin brother, is a character that grows with Charlie, and provides words of wisdom and is like the glue holding the two together, though they're not really that close. The conclusion on the twins' relationship is both moving and subtle. Susan Orlean is a character that grows so much over time. She has a hard, clichéd exterior only to be discovered further into the film as a lonely, lost woman who puts on an act only to cover up the fact that she really is just one depressed person. John Laroche had several sides to him. He's an entertaining, comical character, but we also look deeper into him - his feelings towards his family and past events concerning those dearest to him are at times even touching. It's also interesting to see towards the end that the character feels he must make certain sacrifices to please others and this is certainly an interesting twist for the character. When this entire long paragraph is said and done, "Adaptation" churns out four of the most developed, intriguing characters of the new decade.

--Wonderful actors of course play the wonderful characters. Nicolas Cage is Oscar worthy in his roles as the Kaufman brothers; he is simply a tour de force. He really takes the characters and makes them his own, and I actually forgot he was acting. Now that's a great performance. Meryl Streep is a champ as usual, portraying her complicated character brilliantly and giving her a lot of depth. Chris Cooper in his Oscar winning role as Laroche is simply a treat, bringing some great charm and charisma to his part.

--The behind-the-scenes scenes of "Being John Malkovich" were, simply put, a treat and a bonus for anyone who loved that film as much as I did.

--"Adaptation" gives a lot of insight as to what it is to be a writer, and pledges many questions to its characters and audience. What are writers really trying to achieve by putting their art into the world? Why, sometimes, do they bother? What causes writers' block, and what solves it? Being an aspiring screenwriter, I found these questions enthralling and the overall life-as-a-writer aspect of the film to be very immersing and entertaining throughout.

--This movie is a real original. It uses new comedic techniques that are original and very welcome to a film world that is so often one cliché after another, romance comedy or teen cheerleading flick. I loved seeing this movie's making unfold in front of my very eyes and found the idea for the film quite remarkably original to tell you the truth. A truly unique picture.

THE BAD:

--Disappointing that after such an amazing first and second half, the final third is one of those stupid chase sequences. It felt really like it was taking away the film's realism, which it had built up so well, despite whether in real life this big chase actually happened, or not.

RATING:

9/10 - You'll never see another movie quite like "Adaptation". It's a completely engrossing experience only let down by a disappointing finale.

IF YOU LIKED THIS MOVIE I RECOMMEND:

About Schmidt (6/10)
American Beauty (10/10)
Being John Malkovich (9/10)
Bringing Out the Dead (9/10)
Vanilla Sky (9/10)

[Cronos]

what a disappointment, after hearing so much good stuff about this i was hoping it would be an improvement over the pretty crappy and equally disappointing Being John Malkovich. it was a slight improvement but nothing more. overall the acting was very good and the story was mildy interesting but it was just poorly done. at a number of points i was getting pretty damn bored and the only reason i kept it on was because the people also watching it were finding it relatively enjoyable. at times the script was very clever and funny but on the whole pretty forgettable and it didnt seem to be directed properly

6/10

[moviegroupie]

8/10 I agree with OP. Even if it stunk, I wouldn't be the first to admit it because I totally dig Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman duets.

[Arathon]

creative and intriguing, but at the same time too long, and overrated. Great performances tho. 7/10