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Nicolas Cage in "Adaptation"

Adaptation

R (2003) Publication Date Jan. 10, 2003

Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and director Spike Jonze are adept at disrupting cinematic standards. With their unconventional dark-horse hit "Being John Malkovich" (1999), the unique team tossed the Hollywood formula into a blender and hit "frappe." The resulting slush was a delicious treat of anguish and intelligence.

"Adaptation" serves up an equally satisfying outcome. This time around, Kaufman wrote himself into his screenplay, playing an out-of-shape screenwriter hot off his "Being John Malkovich" success. When Charlie (Nicolas Cage) is offered the rare opportunity to adapt New York journalist Susan Orlean's (Meryl Streep) bestselling book, he leaps at the request and begins to deconstruct "The Orchid Thief," a true story about wild-eyed orchid lover John Laroche (Chris Cooper).

Frustration and loneliness hit Charlie like a sledgehammer as he (and the audience) learns about the relationship that blossomed between the highbrow Orlean and the lowbrow Laroche. To make matters worse, Charlie's carefree twin brother Donald (also Cage) lightheartedly attempts to develop his own screenwriting career.

With Charlie's ideas fizzling and hopes fading, he seeks guidance from screenwriting scholar Robert McKee (Brian Cox), whose book has inspired many -- including Donald. Left no alternative, Charlie ultimately seeks counsel from his head-in-the-clouds twin, who proposes that Charlie will only be able to complete his screenplay if the brothers follow Orlean and discover the truth about her relationship with Laroche.

The performances here are stellar. Cage breaks his typical tough-guy mold to portray both the emotionally tormented Charlie and the dimwitted but innocent Donald. Streep's delivery proves again why she is one of the most accomplished and enigmatic actresses in history. And Cooper could well win an Oscar nod for his brilliant yet mentally battered Laroche.

But the real treat here is the powerful screenplay. Chock full of true-to-life dialogue and inspirational insight, "Adaptation" is an ode to the frustrated artist in all of us. Though so far from the mainstream it will likely turn off the typical viewer, fans of the offbeat will appreciate this elegant melding of reality and imagination.

Rated: R for language, sexuality, some drug use and violent images. 1 hours, 54 minutes.

- Tyler Hanley