Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman’s Adaptation saw Nicolas Cage on top form.
We celebrate a brilliant modern film.
In many ways, Kaufmans follow-up, 2002sAdaptation,is equally audacious.
The circular, subtle brilliance ofAdaptationcan all be found in one brief yet oft-celebrated moment.
Its my weakness, my ultimate lack of conviction that brings me here.
And here I am, because my jaunt into the abyss brought me nothing.
But isnt that the risk one takes for attempting something new?
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…but God help you if you use voice-over in your work, my friends!
McKee scolds, his zealous face lit up by an overhead projector.
Its flaccid, sloppy writing.
Any idiot could write voice-over narration to explain the thoughts of a character.
Thunderstruck, defeated, Kaufman slides down into his seat.
The results, quite miraculously, ended up as a film directed by Spike Jonze.
I mean, how do you make a book about flower theft cinematic, anyway?
Simply put, the movie shouldnt work.
Because if I pitched it, I thought Id be, you know, dismissed.
In writingAdaptation, Kaufman created a fictional character, a twin brother named Donald.
Cage plays both twins, and his dual performance inAdaptationranks among his best work.
Charlie and Donalds approaches to writing also reflect their opposing personalities.
To Charlies barely-concealed horror, Donald manages to sell his script without breaking a sweat.
With its outpourings of self-loathing, Adaptation could be seen as a film in the tradition of Woody Allen.
Kaufman privately obsesses over his appearance.
He desperately wants to be liked.
The real Kaufmans willingness to lay himself bare like this is a move most screenwriters wouldnt even countenance.
ButAdaptationisnt merely a one-note, internal drama.
Its also desperately funny.
From the very beginning,Adaptationintersperses Charlies creative despair with scenes from the book.
But Orlean is beguiled and then fascinated by Laroches passion for rare orchids.
As McKee puts it, you’re free to have an uninvolving, tedious movie.
But wow them in the end, and youve got a hit…
The story meanders unpredictably, but were engrossed because Charlie and Donalds personalities drive every scene.
Its this awkward interview which drives the film into its alligator-infested final third.
Its this humanity that preventsAdaptationfrom being the self-indulgent, narcissistic, solipsistic experiment that the screen Kaufman feared.
Had either denied permission, the script would have been sunk.
They felt that if I didnt say yes, the whole project would be shot.
Robert McKee was similarly involved.
It cant help but be.
Because that person will recognize him or herself in you, and that will give them hope.
