"Adaptation" – Creative Creation by Homer Yen (c) 2003
Most films try to keep things plain and simple. You'll find a handful of characters, a certain amount of conflict, a dramatic arc, and then the perennial climax where success and failure are decided. Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Nicolas Cage) finds that formula to be overused.
Charlie is a very smart man and recognizes his foibles. Yet, he is too neurotic to address them. This is true of his work. His current project is well overdue. But, he does not take the obvious steps in rectifying this. This is even truer of his social skills. Faced with an automatic kissing situation, Charlie is easily flummoxed.
"Adaptation" is likely the most creative and well-crafted film of 2002. It has an unconventional and Oscar-worthy script that gives it a unique kind of feel to tremendously distance it from other 2002 offerings. Yet, despite the general low-key approach that Oscar nominated films have displayed, this one offers a very interesting story about orchids and thieves, struggling screenwriters, and awakening passions. Yes, these three facets seem wholly separate. But, they smartly click into place by the end of the film.
Much of the credit goes to real-life screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, who also penned the fascinating "Being John Malkovich." His thought process is so different that written explanation can not adequately describe how the film unfolds upon the big screen. Slowly, yet purposefully, we meet the characters that somehow first orbit around one another until they eventually come crashing together. This is not the result of gravity; rather, it is overwhelming curiosity that has the power to both awaken and destroy.
Much of the credit also goes to the solid cast. They include the always-focused Meryl Streep who plays Susan Orlean, a writer for the New Yorker magazine who has recently done an exquisite piece on Florida orchid lover, John Laroche (Chris Cooper). John is one of those oddly alluring personalities that possess a combination of passion and brilliance, which makes up for his less-than-desirable looks. He has conjured up a full-proof plan to poach rare orchids from Florida's state preserve. Susan is attracted to his efforts, his madman reasoning, his unlimited knowledge about orchids, and his passion. Her book becomes a best-seller.
Hollywood would like to turn this into a big-screen feature. But is there enough Hollywood substance to make it into a movie? That's for Charlie Kaufman to solve. Unfortunately, he has more blank pages than concrete ideas. And to make matters worse, his twin brother Donald (also played by Cage) writes a conventional potboiler and sells it easily. Cage finally gets to show some dramatic range, which has been muted in most of his recent films. Here, we can easily tell the twins apart from their differing personalities (although the fact that Charlie wears flannels all the time helps).
The craftiness of the film comes from its multi-layered approach. There are three stories all happening at the same time, happening over different time periods, which eventually converge. One involves the theft of the orchids. One involves Susan seeing an opportunity to improve her forlorn life through this assignment. One involves the challenge of screenwriting. Any of these in themselves would have been good enough to sustain our interest. But, to have the three intermingled makes this a truly engaging piece of work.
Grade: B+
S: 2 out of 3 L: 3 out of 3 V: 2 out of 3
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