Being John Malkovic (1997) Spike Jonze

Craig is unhappy with life, hes very misrable and has no money and can't find a job in the indusrty that he loves, a puppeteer. He is happiest most when he is a puppeteer because he can be somebody else rather than himself. He finds a job and meets a woman that eventually he and his wife both fall in love with. One day at work, Craig stumbles across a secret doorway and discovers that it's a portal that leads into the head of movie star John Malkovic. After a few 15 minute experiences of entering Malkovic's brain, Craig uses his puppeteer knowledge to change the way Malkovic acts and his mannerisms become that of Craig's. Craig's fantasies of the female colleague he falls in love with become very surreal. She falls for Craig but only when he is John Malkovic.

I am reminded of Terry Gilliam's Brazil because of the protagonist's actions. Both lead male characters in Brazil and Being John Malkovic decide to ignore everything that goes on around them in their lives and instead tempt fate for a woman. In Craig's case during Malkovic, he ditches his wife for a woman he met at work that he instantly fell in love with. Ironically it was his wife that drove him to find a job.

When Craig enters Malkovic's mind, he is able to see through Malkovic's eyes but still think as Craig. He learns how to control Malkovic's body.

I enjoyed the concept of the film, by using a secret door way as a portal to somebody elses mind, but the idea is a little too far fetched for my final major project. I want the fantasy and wild imagination of my character to be a place where he wants to be, rather then placed into another body. The vignette appearing when the audience is placed at a POV of Malkovic gives more emphasis on the rollercoaster emotional experience of being John Malkovic