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The wacky director and screenwriter duo of Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman are probably the only two distinctive filmmaking minds that can produce a satisfyingly complicated tale of a screenwriter's attempt to write a screenplay about a book that cannot be adapted into a screenplay. Furthermore, though the film received an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, the script technically isn't an adaptation of Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief, but in fact is a fictionalized account of Kaufman's attempt to adapt the book to film. The result is a meandering story of passion, desire and of course, botany, with a postmodern twist in anti-Hollywood script writing. The real life Robert McKee (played by Brian Cox in this risky picture from Sony) would probably have violent heart palpitations if one of his students starting writing himself into their own screenplay, let alone in such a surrealist manner, but Kaufman achieves originality here with an admirable charm showcasing how a shift in conventional narrative structure is not always necessarily a bad idea.
Nicolas Cage shines as both Charlie and Donald Kaufman, conflicting twins who possess contrasting attributes, especially when it comes to screenwriting. The portrayal of Charlie in particular is a great creation: inconsistent dashes of alienation with others and the world, general anxiety and bewilderment concerning script visions, and reluctance to utilise prototypical writing techniques, all act as a satirical edge on the dark abandonment certain struggling writers must feel. The attractive eccentricity of the characters also spreads to Chris Cooper's John Laroche who is portrayed very convincingly as a toothless thief, and yet meticulous admirer of beauty. This surprisingly passionate and intelligent side almost completely separates him from the authentic and stereotypical hillbilly appearance Cooper pulls off in his Best Supporting Actor appearance. Laroche, the integral role which drives Orlean's original plot, is an exotic plant grower operating out of the Florida Everglades specialising in orchids. Susan Orlean, based on the real-life author, is played with a good dose of tenacity by Meryl Streep as she interviews and consequently falls in love with the con man who will steal and kill to trade the beautiful orchids found in the ancestral Indian lands. This premise may seem to have spoiler symptoms, but as long as one possesses an open mind, you will love the extra unpredictability that unfolds between the three intense leads and the cherished orchids. Every character has an obsessive tendency which is so engrossing.
The extras
Dire. The sound and picture quality are excellent, but filmographies and a trailer make this an almost vanilla release.
The summary
Thought-provoking both in terms of humour and narrative, Adaptation shines.
