Dir. Spike Jonze, US, 2002, 114mins
Cast: Nicholas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper It's proving as difficult to write this review of Adaptation as Charlie Kaufman (played by Nicholas Cage) finds with his new venture - the adaptation of Susan Orlean's book, The Orchid Thief. Where to start? What's the story here? The Orchid Thief is the story of John Laroche (Chris Cooper in Oscar-winning mode), the dentally-challenged orchid collector, who's passion for orchids earns him the admiration of the respected New Yorker journalist, Orlean (Meryl Streep). When the book falls into Charlie's lap as his follow-up script to the hugely successful Being John Malkovich, Charlie is under tremendous pressure to outdo his previous film. Thus, the film follows Charlie through his tortuous mental processes, as he fails to find a significant story in the book on which to base the script. Things go from bad to worse for Charlie when his twin brother, Donald (also played by Cage), becomes annoyingly successful at scriptwriting on his first attempt. Charlie then hits on an idea - why not write him into the screenplay, and turn it into a quest to find the story? Perhaps I should do the same. The result is an illuminating and hilarious vision of 'writer's block' hell. Socially inept Charlie finds his battle to find that intangible aspect on which to build his script mirrors his own unhappiness. His brother, however, is Charlie's opposite - successful with the ladies and popular amongst Charlie's work colleagues. It is with great reluctance, then, that Charlie asks for his brother's help in order to complete his script. In spite of Cage's performance as identical twins, it is Chris Cooper's performance as John "I'm the smartest person I know" Laroche which steals the show, and deservedly won him an Oscar. Cooper gradually reveals Laroche to be a man touched by tragedy and heartbreak; a man whose decision not to replace his front teeth is indicative of the depth of his humanity. Similarly, Streep is fantastic in her role as journalist Orlean; a woman in search of that elusive passion she feels is missing from her life.
For fans of Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovich, this film is a treat, particularly as there are numerous cameos from the stars of Kaufman's first film. In interweaving elements of fact with fiction, Kaufman has hit upon a touch of genius - which concludes with a moving tribute to his fictitious brother, Donald, in the credits. Ultimately though, the film is not 'about' Charlie and his struggle to adapt Orlean's book for the screen; it's about the ability to adapt at all, to evolve along with one's surroundings in order to survive, or risk becoming defunct. Laurie Munslow |
