being john malkovich

Director: spike jonze

Actor: john cusack,cameron diaz,catherine keener,john malkovich

Data Published: Fri Nov 05 1999

Genres: Comedy,Drama,Fantasy

Key Words: puppeteer,portal,body swap,body switching,magical realism

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120601/

WIKI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Being_John_Malkovich

Description: Being John Malkovich is a movie starring John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and Catherine Keener. A puppeteer discovers a portal that leads literally into the head of movie star John Malkovich.

Plot: Craig Schwartz is an unemployed puppeteer in a forlorn marriage with his pet-obsessed wife Lotte. Gaining a file clerk job through Dr. Lester at LesterCorp, in the strange Floor 7½ low-ceiling offices of the Mertin-Flemmer Building in New York City, he develops an attraction to his coworker Maxine Lund, who does not return his affections. Craig enters a small door hidden behind a filing cabinet and finds himself in the mind of actor John Malkovich. Craig is able to observe and sense whatever Malkovich does for fifteen minutes before he is ejected and dropped into a ditch near the New Jersey Turnpike. He reveals the portal to Maxine and they let others use it for $200 a turn. Craig tells Lotte, who becomes obsessed with the experience, allowing her to live out her transgender desires. Lotte becomes attracted to Maxine and they begin a sexual relationship via Lotte being inside Malkovich's head while Maxine has sex with Malkovich. Craig, forsaken by both women, binds and gags Lotte and locks her in a cage, then enters Malkovich's mind and has sex with Maxine. Craig, with his expert puppeteer skills, discovers that he is able to control Malkovich's actions while in his head, causing the actor to feel paranoid that he is being controlled by someone else. After Malkovich consults with his friend Charlie Sheen, Malkovich trails Maxine to the Mertin-Flemmer building, where he himself tries the portal into his own head and finds himself in a world where everyone has his face and they only say "Malkovich". He is then ejected and meets Craig by the turnpike. Malkovich demands that the portal be closed, but Craig refuses. Lotte escapes with the help of her pet chimpanzee. She phones Maxine, revealing that it was Craig who was having sex with her while inside Malkovich. Maxine is annoyed but accepts it, because she enjoyed the experience. Seeking help, Lotte finds Lester, who reveals himself to be Captain Mertin, the original founder of LesterCorp. Lester is aware of the portal, and has a room dedicated to Malkovich's life. Lester explains that the person who is connected to the portal becomes "ripe" for lasting occupation by others on the eve of their 44th birthday. However, when the host turns 44, the portal immediately moves to its next host, an unborn child. If it is possible for a person to take advantage of the "ripe" host and enter the portal then, one can greatly increase one's lifespan, and then one can eventually move on to another host. However, if one misses the brief window of "ripeness", and enters the portal even a minute too late, one will find oneself trapped within the unborn child who will be the next host. Lester, who has been using the portal in order to prolong his life, reveals his plan to use Malkovich when "ripe" as the host for him and several of his elderly friends. Offered the chance to join Lester's group, Lotte warns him that Craig currently has control of Malkovich. Craig finds he is able to remain in Malkovich indefinitely. He spends the next eight months in Malkovich's body, and using his puppeteer's control, he is able to turn Malkovich into a world-class puppeteer. Malkovich marries Maxine. He learns that she is pregnant as their relationship grows distant. As Malkovich's 44th birthday approaches, Lester and his friends cut a deal with Maxine, and fake her kidnapping. They call up Craig, threatening to kill her if Craig does not leave Malkovich. Craig ends the call, causing Lester to think that he is calling their bluff. Lotte loses hope and attempts to kill Maxine, but they end up at the turnpike after falling through the portal and through Malkovich's shame-ridden subconscious. Maxine reveals to Lotte that Maxine conceived when Lotte was inside Malkovich's body, and she kept the child because it is "theirs". The revelation cements their love for each other. Craig calls back Lester, thinking Maxine is still in danger. Realizing his opportunity, Lester continues his bluff, convincing Craig to leave Malkovich's body. Lester and his friends enter the portal, taking control of Malkovich. Craig, discovering that Lotte and Maxine are together again, decides to enter the portal to become Malkovich and regain Maxine, however he has unknowingly missed the deadline for getting into Malkovich. Years later, an aging Malkovich, containing the collective mind of Lester and his friends, reveals to Sheen a plan to prolong their lives via Maxine's daughter Emily, within whom Craig is now permanently trapped. Through Emily's eyes Craig watches Maxine and Lotte living happily together.