Adaptation.

"From the creator of Being John Malkovich, comes the story about the creator of Being John Malkovich."

2002 1h 55m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 2,903

ComedyCrimeDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Charlie Kaufman is a confused L.A. screenwriter overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy, sexual frustration, self-loathing, and by the screenwriting ambitions of his freeloading twin brother Donald. While struggling to adapt "The Orchid Thief," by Susan Orlean, Kaufman's life spins from pathetic to bizarre. The lives of Kaufman and Orlean's book become strangely intertwined as each one's search for passion collides with the other's.

“From the creator of Being John Malkovich, comes the story about the creator of Being John Malkovich.”

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Cast

Nicolas Cage
Charlie Kaufman / Donald Kaufman
Meryl Streep
Susan Orlean
Chris Cooper
John Laroche
Tilda Swinton
Valerie Thomas
Jay Tavare
Matthew Osceola
Litefoot
Russell
Roger Willie
Randy
Jim Beaver
Ranger Tony

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Spike Jonze
Writers: Charlie Kaufman
Languages: English, Latin
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 24 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Latin.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Spike Jonze, shot by Lance Acord. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Carter Burwell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Eric Zumbrunnen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "From the creator of Being John Malkovich, comes the story about the creator of Being John Malkovich.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0268126 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Spike Jonze directs. Lance Acord behind the camera. Carter Burwell scores. Eric Zumbrunnen cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Latin.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 24 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Latin.
3Directed by Spike Jonze, shot by Lance Acord. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Carter Burwell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Eric Zumbrunnen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "From the creator of Being John Malkovich, comes the story about the creator of Being John Malkovich.".
8IMDB entry: tt0268126 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 11 themes, including "based on novel or book", "marriage crisis", "alligator", "writer's block".
10Released under 39 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Lance Acord
Original score: Carter Burwell
Editing: Eric Zumbrunnen
Production design: K.K. Barrett
Costume design: Casey Storm
Makeup / hair: Joel Harlow
VFX supervisor: Gray Marshall
Sound: David Abrahamsen
Stunt coordinator: Dan Bradley
Runtime: 115 min · 1h 55m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $19,000,000
Box office: $32,800,000
Return: 173% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Adaptation. (2002)

Awards

Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

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Spike Jonze

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Gimly2020-07-26
★ 5/10
I'm reacting the way the world does to movies about making movies about making movies. I mean come on, Charlie Kaufman, some of us have work in the morning, damn. Final rating:★★½ - Not quite for me, but I definitely get the appeal.
CinemaSerf2022-04-18
★ 7/10
When you watch some of Nicolas Cage's more recent stuff you do wonder how on earth he ever became a star in the first place. Well, this is one of the films that reminds us why. He is a struggling screenwriter ("Charlie") charged with adapting a novel about orchids written by "Susan Orlean" (Meryl Streep). Mental block would be putting it mildly - he simply has no idea how to make it work for "Valerie" (easily one of the less abstruse roles played by Tilda Swinton). Moreover, he is constantly hassled by his twin brother "Donald" who is writing his own story - one that his sibling thinks is riddled with flaws and inconsistencies. The book he must adapt centres around the activities of "Laroche" (Chris Cooper) who had a habit of going with his Seminole pals to remove rare plants from a nature reserve. Illegal? Well not if you know your way around the Floridian penal code, and the ensuing court case is what entices "New Yorker" reporter "Orlean" to write his story. Initially sceptical of her rather uncouth subject matter - not helped by his missing front teeth, she discovers there is much more to the man and his provision of a green powder soon helps her to relax! What now ensues nicely marries the threads of the storylines as both Cage characters, an excellently enigmatic Cooper, and the unfulfilled Miss Streep find themselves gradually drawn together for an admittedly pretty far-fetched denouement (pronounce denooeymont). Cage plays the two characters with considerable skill; he juggles his characters' frustrations with his writing, his love life, his brother and his own reluctance to meet the author engagingly and at times he can make you squirm in your seat a bit. There is plenty of humour, and the all but two hours just flies by. If nothing else, it does make you appreciate just how difficult is is to turn a novel into a film - and might explain why so few people are actually any good at it!