Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Sensational black comedy
Director Spike Jonze and screen writer Charlie Kaufman masterfully collaborate to create a truly terrific madcap farcical story within a story that is Adaptation.Nicolas Cage does a superb job in his portrayal of twin screen writing brothers Charlie(!) and Donald Kaufman. Charlie, having tasted success in Being John Malkovich is an insecure, self condemning introvert. He has been commissioned with the project of converting the novel The Orchid Thief to the screen. Lacking the proper motivation, he developes a monstrous writer's block which is throwing him into a major bout of depression. Meanwhile his outgoing, yet marginally talented brother is gleaning success with a preposterous script about a killer with multiple personalities. The story within the story revolves around the plot contained within the novel The Orchid Thief. Meryl Streep, playing the author of the novel, Susan Orleans, is shown in flashback format getting information for her novel about nut case John Laroche, a brilliant horticulturist on trial for illegally harvesting rare orchids from a state preserve. Laroche is played spectacularly and in Oscar deserving form by a toothless Chris Cooper. Laroche's storied life has been plagued by tragedy. Cage, desperate for inspiration decides to meet with Streep to get some insight as his writing efforts are turning into a jumbled mess. His deadline is rapidly approaching. Cage travels to New York but spinelessly can't get the courage to speak to Streep. Cage, playing Charlie recruits his brother Donald to help him follow Streep to Florida, where she is having a rendez-vous with Cooper. That confrontation results in an utterly unpredictable ending. Spike Jones should be greatly commended for his work on this movie. I especially enjoyed his juxtaposition of the movie Being John Malkovich through the plot of Adapation.
Rating: - A Rare Treat
A story within a story, Adaptation is a rare treat inside screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's talented yet tormented mind as he attempts to carve out a screenplay from Susan Orlean's publication, The Orchid Thief. Her book, while an intriguing true account of botanical expert John Laroche who collaborates with Seminole Indians in Florida to exploit rare ghost orchids, apparently doesn't have enough of a storyline to translate to the big screen. Kaufman and director Spike Jonze take us through Charlie's own mental gymnastics by offsetting his character with a fictional twin brother Donald, who is a less talented but more pragmatic screenwriter, and by brilliantly interweaving pieces from Orlean's original story.Nicholas Cage gives one of his finest and most convincing performances as twin brothers Charlie and Donald. He descends deeply into their minds and souls in order to capture the fine yet distinct differences in their approaches both to screenwriting and to life. Cage is more than aptly supported by Meryl Streep, who as Susan Orlean transitions brilliantly from understated writer to an equally tormented soul of Kaufman's imagination and by Chris Cooper, who as John Laroche gives us a healthy dose of someone unwavering and a bit unsavory in his motivations. The juxtaposition of these characters is what drives Kaufman to the brink of insanity and ultimately this film to its lofty heights. Stephen Rodman
Rating: - Brilliant, original, ingenious filmmaking
The first movie to tackle the internalized process of screenwriting, Spike Jonze's dazzlingly original film is also about biology, the need for passion, the inevitability of change and the absolute urgency of adapting to it. Kaufman's ingenious screenplay manages both to lampoon and confirm Robert McKee's asinine admonitions on Hollywood screenwriting - it breaks all the rules AND follows them - but it can do this only because it's constantly drawing attention to the process. It establishes its own terms of reference, it tells you how to watch it - and it works brilliantly. Other films do this, too, such as "Requiem for a Dream" and "Mulholland Drive". These films don't ignore "the rules" of screenwriting so much as invent new ones and take you along for the ride. "Adaptation" isn't as hilariously enchanting as "Being John Malkovich", but that's because this film is thematically more subtle and has a central character who is somewhat less endearing. Kaufman's crippling insecurity, as performed by Cage, is utterly palpable. The other performances are universally excellent, with Streep and Cooper deserving their Golden Globes. Clearly, Kaufman should win the Oscar for this script. He should have won it three years back for "Being John Malkovich". But the Best Adapted Screenplay category is awash with deserving potential nominees this year: "Insomnia", "The Hours", "The Quiet American", "Chicago", "About Schmidt", "Minority Report", "Road to Perdition" ... the list is almost endless. However, following the arcane logic of the Academy, they'll probably give it to "The Two Towers" (one of the worst adaptations ever written) because last year they incomprehensibly neglected to give it to "Fellowship of the Ring" (which, for my money, is all-time best).
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