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Rating: 4.75 out of 5
I have always wondered how a book became a movie. You would think that if you had a book, that would serve as the source material for a screenplay, which it does. I have never spoken to a screenwriter, but I want to know how they read a book and then turn it into a film. I would think it would be pretty easy as a screenwriter would make notes and condense a 500-page book into a two-hour movie. After watching Adaptation, my whole view of this world changed drastically. I want to admit that watching this film was fun, enjoyable, and a film I could watch repeatedly.
Adaptation is a film directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman. Kaufman based Adaptation on his struggles to adapt Susan Orlean’s non-fiction book The Orchid Thief. The film starts with Charlie Kaufman (Cage) being on the set of his latest film, Being John Malkovich. Charlie is hired as a screenwriter by Valerie Thomas (Swinton) to adapt Susan Orlean’s (Streep) non-fiction book “The Orchid Thief” for the screen. Thomas bought the movie rights when she read the article in the New Yorker. The book details the story of rare orchid hunter John Laroche (Cooper). John has a significant passion for orchids. Charlie wants to stay as faithful to the book as possible but finds it challenging and boring as hell. He feels like John is an interesting character, but no one would really care about orchids. During this time, Charlie is also going through some personal shit. He has major insecurity about himself and doesn’t act upon any of his thoughts or feelings. One of those feelings is his love for Amelia Kavan, who is interested in him as a man. Charlie also deals with his twin brother, Donald, who has moved into his house. Donald is more carefree and aims to be a screenwriter like his brother. Despite not liking Donald, Charlie finally asks for advice. With his help, they discover some fascinating clues in Orlean’s book, which might be the key to making a great film.
Honestly, I was skeptical of this film. I didn’t know what to expect. I actually tried to watch it before, and lasted all the way until John Malkovich was speaking during the filming of Being John Malkovich. I gave this film a chance, and damn did I enjoy it. The story revolves around Charlie Kaufman, his anxiety, and struggles of writing a screenplay to adapt Susan Orlean’s 1998 non-fiction book The Orchid Thief while suffering from writer’s block. The story has many different areas and themes that contribute to Kaufman’s writer’s block but also Susan Orlean’s quest to write the book.
Let’s start off with everything dealing with Charlie Kaufman. Charlie does excessive monologue in his head that significantly contributes to this film and story. You see his actions on screen but what he is feeling on the inside is an entirely different story. Homeboy sweats harder than anything I have ever seen. Why are you always wearing a cardigan in L.A.? Doesn’t make sense. Charlie was hired to turn a novel into a screenplay and has major writer’s block. He is thinking what many of us are thinking, what the freak is so great about a man who steals orchids. He goes on this mini-quest to understand how to write about something. One of the major problems Charlie is dealing with is trying to make it interesting. He wants to write the perfect film, but there are no interesting facts about it.
On this quest to make it interesting is his twin brother, Donald. Donald is free loving and the complete opposite. Donald is writing a screenplay also that seems completely insane, but he seeks help, and it works. When Donald tells Charlie to investigate and talk to Susan, that is when shit hits the fan, and the real story comes out. Donald’s role in this film is to show Charlie that you need more to writing a story and serves as Charlie’s counterpart. Donald lies on the floor to think and seems to always have a charming smile about himself. He pushes Charlie to seek different advice and to better himself.
Another theme that is dealt with in the film is Charlie’s love life. Dude has ZERO game. He really likes this Amelia, and you can tell she really likes him. They go on a date, and he tells himself to kiss her, but she walks away. She starts dating a new guy. Charlie also has some major fantasies. He fantasizes about Alice, a waitress, and even tries to ask her out. This was the one time we get to see the beautiful Judy Greer nude for a quick second. My brain couldn’t comprehend the brief scene. Charlie also fantasizes about Susan and has a make-out session with her. This all ends with Charlie in his bed alone and masturbating.
The other half of the film deals with Susan and her writing the book about John. She sees the story on the news and decides to go down and write about it. John is brash, speaks his mind, and is straight-up country with his no-teeth self. John seems to give zero shit about anything. Susan and John spend incredible amounts of time with each other. When writing the story, you can see the frustration that Susan is dealing with when it comes to John. He seems to be all over the place. Then the bombshell hits. John and Susan are getting it on and are also doing a drug ring. The story gets crazy after that as Charlie and Donald investigate and become hunted for what they found.
The acting in this film is phenomenal. Even though he didn’t win the Academy Award, I want to give major, major props to Nicolas Cage. Cage used a split screen to play twins Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman. As Charlie Kaufman, who is an actual person that is a famous screenwriter, he played him as a depressed, shy, always doubting, monologue-thinking, high-masturbating man who is having significant doubts about how to turn a book about orchards into a film. Charlie always stresses about everything and never really makes any moves. He greatly fantasizes about the women he meets and then comes off as creepy when he talks to them. He also has a major sweating problem. He is pretty prideful as he doesn’t think he needs any help. When his brother gives him a talk about going to see a seminar, he reluctantly goes. When he is monologuing, the speaker states that monologues are lazy. What adds to his anxiety is his twin brother, Donald Kaufman. Cage also plays Donald perfectly as the exact opposite of Charlie. Donald is carefree and goes with the flow. He goes to a seminar about screenwriting and then writes a hit that wants to be picked up. I really liked Donald, and his character shows what happens when two mindsets clash with each other. His character was a breather but shows that if you try but don’t take yourself too seriously, great things can happen.
Chris Cooper was fantastic as John Laroche. As the Florida man who the book is based on, Cooper is excellent. He is brash, speaks his mind, doesn’t give a shit about anyone except for the orchids and plants that he takes from reserves. He is all over the place. One scene truly brought Cooper’s A-game: the car accident scene. That one scene hit you like a ton of bricks and made you go, “oh shit.” Cooper did such a great job that he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Besides Cage, he really made this film go and was a joy to watch.
Finally, the beautiful Meryl Streep as Susan Orlean is always a joy to watch. She played Susan as a high-ranking journalist for the New Yorker. She goes to Florida to write a story and interview John. You think her life is grand and happy, but in reality, she is equally sad with life. Her life changes when the employee at the plant store talks about her hair. She seems to have a realization and then starts an affair with John, which ends in tragedy.
Adaptation is an excellent film for individuals who want to enter the film industry. The story is incredible as it tells the story of a screenwriter trying to write a screenplay on a book and how the author wrote the book. The acting from all the main cast was fantastic. Cage was excellent while playing two characters, while Cooper is equally impressive. The fantastic Meryl Streep always knows how to hold her own. Watch this film and wonder how screenwriters write movies.
BONUS CLIP!!!
