How I miss director Spike Jonze these days. After "Being John Malkovich", "Adaptation", "Where the wild things are" and "HER" (2013) he hasnt made any new movies. And his movies are so extraordinary funny,human and weird that I just wish he gets another chance to direct a feature film.He only directs music videos now from Lady Gaga, Kanye West to the Beastie Boys. I cant really tell anything about the story of "Adaptation" because it is such a bizarre and clever maze. And it would spoil part of the fun too. The mystery of the film depends partly on not knowing what is going to happen, although you can see it several times and still be charmed because the characters of Meryl Streep and Nicholas Cage are so human and loveable despite all their shortcomings. If you love struggling selfhating characters, like Woody Allen who fail at everything, then you will probably like the character of Nicholas Cage too, who plays an excellent role in hating himself constantly. Meryl Streep is always at her best in any movie. And this movie let's these two terrific actors collide in ways you just couldnt imagine.It is tongue in cheek and funny as hell.There are no obvious jokes here. But the characters shortcomingings are so humorously depicted that feelings like loneliness and self hatred can be laughed about loud in a forgiving way.This movie has got a heart. And it is a really a warm feelgood movie however painful and deplorable the self hatred is! You just love to see Nicholas Cage hate himself so much. That's an achievement on itself.Spike Jonze's best work. A new classic.Winner of the Golden Globe, the Oscar and dozens of other awards worldwide.Brilliant!

ADAPTATION is a delightful film that says a lot about nature and how human destiny is inexorably linked to it.The action begins by running the credits across a blank screen, while Charlie Kaufman (Nicolas Cage) sums up his confused state of mind. This speech sums up the film's basic premise; to find a solution to our daily struggles, we should look into nature. The orchid is a perfect flower that blooms every year. And fulfills its appointed function in the universe. Wouldn't it be good if we could do the same?The task isn't as easy as Charlie thinks. He finds a story centred on the flower' but has nothing to transform it into an effective screenplay. Eventually he teams up with brother Donald (also played by Cage) to produce something workable. What the film suggests is that we should look into ourselves and our relationship to nature to find inspiration, rather than relying on familiar cliches. The twins discover this through collaboration,Charlie's story is contrasted with that of Susan Orlean (Meryl Streep)' who chases after orchid hunter John Laroche (Chris Cooper). This plot is not entirely optimistic, but she discovers there is a plausible alternative to "chasing the story" for those who want to look for lt. Orlean begins the film by writing faithfully in a notebook what the farmer says, but as the film unfolds she understands his desire to pursue orchids for the purpose of dissecting them so as to turn them into drugs. This drug is not a narcotic, but a means of aligning humanity with nature - it is only our puritan culture that stigmatizes this act. To watch Orlean wading through the undergrowth in search of the orchid is to watch a woman transformed by the desires of nature.Eventually the film shows Charlie having resolved his mental problems, partly through reflection, and partly by the knowledge that there is a great deal more to the world than things, and that understanding its beauties is the first step towards changing one's lifestyle. He encounters Orlean briefly, but it is chiefly through her book that he comes to realize what he has hitherto been missing.ADAPTATION is not an easy film to follow, but befits several viewings in order to understand its complex plot-structure and its oscillation over time between past and present.

The first time I watched this movie, I thought "this is either pretentious garbage or pure genius". After letting it sink in for a few days, I thought about it and certain pieces started fitting together. I decided to give it a second watch, and afterwards I was like "oh of course, its genius".I think a lot of people who criticize this film don't understand what the film is going for. I'll try not to spoil anything, but I left a disclaimer since I'll be roughly outlining the plot. A common criticism I see is that the film tries to reject the Hollywood screen writing clichés but chickens out at the end for a dumb action-packed climax. Here's the thing: The film uses the 3-act structure in an ironic way. The film is about the writing of the film. Early on in the film, Charlie Kaufman (the character, not the real person) is trying to stay faithful to the source material he's given to adapt. The source material is The Orchid Thief, a nonlinear book that doesn't really follow a typical 3-act structure. When he experiences writer's block, he asks his twin brother, who went to a screen writing seminar, for help. He even goes to the screen writing seminar himself. Every piece of advice he gets makes the script more formulated, and thus so does the film. It should be fairly obvious once we see Susan Orlean (the character, not the real person) snorting plant drugs and fornicating with John Laroche (the character) that fiction has taken over. That's also why Charlie and Donald follow her to Florida, and crazy stuff involving guns and an alligator ensues. The film's ending works on multiple levels. It can be enjoyed by the average moviegoer as a dumb fun climax but more discerning viewers will be in on the joke.One thing I want to bring up before I wrap up is Nicolas Cage's performance as the fictional Charlie Kaufman. At first I thought "oh come on, there's no way anyone is that insecure and submissive" but then I saw videos of interviews with the real Charlie Kaufman and was like "oh wow, Nick Cage nailed it". Its not an exact recreation, but it definitely works as a fictional portrayal.There's more details I'll leave for you to discover on your own. All you have to know is this is a very clever film and serves as a great satire of Hollywood tropes. Personally, I think this movie is perfect, and there's nothing I would change that I could imagine making the film objectively better. Charlie Kaufman is one of the most fascinating screenwriters working in Hollywood today and I'd say all of his films are worth a watch!

Reviewed August 2011I am bowled over. No words to describe Charlie Kauffman's imagination and vision. I thought 'Being John Malkovich' was the craziest one can go, the same man behind it tops it in a couple of years. Credit should also go to the director, editor and a string of talented actors who give their best for transferring this complex multi layered script to the screen devotedly. I can think of 2 reasons why Charlie Kauffman did not win the Oscar. 1) Jury didn't know whether to look at it as original or adapted screenplay. 2) Charlie Kauffman took help from an imaginary Donald Kauffman. I am not sure how to put a brief synopsis of this movie like I do in most reviews, let me give it a try. Charlie Kauffman (Nicolas Cage) is stuck in a writer's block after he was asked to adapt a non- fiction book 'The Orchid Thief' about experiences of the author Susan Orlean (Meryl Streep) with a plant enthusiast John Laroche (Chris Cooper). David Kauffman, a little dimwit yet relaxed identical twin of Charlie comes to stay with him and also planning to write a mass thriller. Charlie out of last resort plans to take help from his brother to finish the script. It definitely brings to mind two other movies though this is completely fresh, 'Stranger than Fiction' and 'Being John Malkovich'. Meryl Streep sleepwalks the role in her good way, Nicolas Cage's character resembles a bit of Craig Schwartz and he does a terrific job. Chris Cooper deserves the Oscar all the way. I would've given it a 100% had the climax not dragged a bit. The narration is mostly thoughts of the writer, he contradicts his thought process and seconds it back and forth through out. It was an amazing experience sitting through this and would definitely look forward to more of Charlie Kauffman's work. If you have not seen this one yet, you should. There aren't many like this.