My Movie Reviews

Being John Malkovich

Release Date: October 29, 1999 I thought the way this movie handled sexuality and gender identity was surprisingly good for the 90s. Lotte, after being John Malkovich, questions her relationships and self. She tries to tell Craig, her husband, not soon after being John Malkovich, how she had been thinking about transitioning to be a man. He criticizes her for this, saying it’s ridiculous. This whole plot line (which becomes a significant part of the movie), is treated with humor. I thought it would just become an ongoing joke throughout the movie that wouldn’t actually happen. And, it technically didn’t, but Lotte does fall in love with Maxine and I thought it was very sweet. By the end of the movie, and a lot of turmoil, Lotte and Maxine raise their daughter, Emily. They seem to have a loving and fulfilling relationship. Craig is a selfish person. I pitied him at first, he was a simple puppeteer struggling to find work while keeping up with his passion, but he quickly showed a dark side after meeting Maxine and becoming infatuated with her. He became manipulative and deceiving, hurting Lotte as well as psychologically torturing Malkovich by turning a profit at letting people become him for a limited time. (Though Maxine came up with this idea, I still hate Craig.) Overall, this movie was very unique and will remain one of my favorites.