Adaptation. (2002)

Director:

Spike Jonze

Writers (WGA):

Susan Orlean (book)
Charlie Kaufman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

10 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Charlie Kaufman writes the way he lives... With Great Difficulty. His Twin Brother Donald Lives the way he writes... with foolish abandon. Susan writes about life... But can't live it. John's life is a book... Waiting to be adapted. One story... Four Lives... A million ways it can end.

Plot:

A lovelorn screenwriter turns to his less talented twin brother for help when his efforts to adapt a non-fiction book go nowhere.

Plot Keywords:

Writer's Block | Alligator | Script | Title Ends With Period | Screenplay

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 39 wins & 48 nominations

Cast

Nicolas Cage	...	Charlie Kaufman / Donald Kaufman
Tilda Swinton	...	Valerie Thomas
Meryl Streep	...	Susan Orlean
Chris Cooper	...	John Laroche
Jay Tavare	...	Matthew Osceola
Litefoot	...	Russell (as G. Paul Davis)
Roger Willie	...	Randy
Jim Beaver	...	Ranger Tony
Cara Seymour	...	Amelia Kavan
Doug Jones	...	Augustus Margary
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Ranger Steve Neely (scenes deleted)
Gary Farmer	...	Buster Baxley
Peter Jason	...	Defense Attorney
Gregory Itzin	...	Prosecutor
Curtis Hanson	...	Orlean's Husband

Also Known As:

The Orchid Thief (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, sexuality, some drug use and violent images.

Runtime:

114 min | Turkey:81 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Latin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Philippines:R-18 | Malaysia:U | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:L (video rating) | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Singapore:NC-16 (original rating) | Singapore:PG (DVD rating) (cut) | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Bern) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #38094) | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Polsa Rosa Ranch - 5726 Soledad Canyon Road, Acton, California, USA

Company:

Beverly Detroit

Trivia:

Based on writer Charlie Kaufman's struggle to adapt the best-selling book "The Orchid Thief".

Goofs:

Continuity: At the end of the film when Kaufman pulls out of the parking garage, a woman (Jennifer Porst) sits next to him in the car for a single shot, though he is riding alone.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Charlie Kaufman: [voiceover] Do I have an original thought in my head? My bald head. Maybe if I were happier, my hair wouldn't be falling out. Life is short. I need to make the most of it. Today is the first day of the rest of my life. I'm a walking cliché. I really need to go to the doctor and have my leg checked...

Movie Connections:

References Flowers for Algernon (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Alison

actors & director create startling and original film

"Adaptation" is an off-the-wall film with a startling second half. Overall, the film is darkly comic, but viewers get an unexpected dose of movie action and violence before everything is said and done.

It's fair to say that there is a fair amount of violence in the film, and even when you know it's coming, you're still caught off guard. Spike Jonze is merciless in this regard. Some of the scenes are incredibly graphic, in fact.

There is a certain adolescent male tone to the film (the violence + sexual fantasy + masturbation). This is partially due to characterization and partially due to the director's own aesthetic and perspective. It's not a bad thing, necessarily, either. It just feels as if an unassuming (white male) kid who grew up thinking a lot about girls and watching movies where stuff blowed up made this film... See it and you'll know what I'm saying.

The script is crazy. Absolutely zany. Akin to "Being John Malkovich" really. Fortunately, this well gives opportunity for Nic Cage, Meryl Streep, and Chris Cooper to really be free with their art.

Cage has a difficult role, portraying two very different identical twin brothers. Cage is at the emotional core of the film. If his performance doesn't resonate, the film doesn't work. I thought Cage was excellent. And that the script really gives him some wonderful, challenging material to work with. His first scene with Tilda Swinton (looking gorgeous!) is excellent.

Meryl Streep...well, what can be said. She's fantastic. She exudes a tiredness and connectedness and hopelessness and sadness, evolving the character brilliantly over the course of the film.

Similarly, Chris Cooper brings a humanity to the role of the Orchad Thief, really grounding the narrative and making it all believable. Again, he's given a brilliant opening scene and he works wonders with it. Throughout, he is believably arrogant, lonely, vulnerable, and just plain real. Cooper's performance is as rich as any other I've seen this year; truly, truly sublime.

"Adaptation" is certainly not for everyone. If you're looking for something starkly different and simmering with originality, give this film a try, though. Amidst some cloying self-referential clap-trap, there are actually some really freshing film moments.