Performance Reviews: Catherine Keener and Cameron Diaz in "Being John Malkovich" (1999)

1999 stands as one the all time greatest year in cinema, hell, it could be THE greatest year. All aspects of filmmaking during this year were at such a high peak that this decade could simply not follow up. In what could be the best of film of 1999, there are two superb examples of Supporting Actressness of the highest order (and you know how much I looooove them) and they come in the forms of....

....Catherine Keener and Cameron Diaz in Being John Malkovich (1999)

Being John Malkovich is a bizarre, surreal, and all around fascinating film that (especially through its performances) provokes serious thought about a number of different issues we face in life.

The gist of the film itself goes like this -- Everything starts with Craig Schwartz (a miscast John Cusack), a loser puppeteer cannot find work with his passion so is persuaded to get a job as a filing clerk on the 7 1/2 floor of an office building. Here, he discovers a portal that leads directly into the mind of John Malkovich; you see, feel, hear, smell what ever he does as you seriously become him.

This leads into the two supporting ladies....

We have Maxine (Keener), the sexy, conniving, and mysterious co-worker to which Craig is hopelessly smitten with, and Craig's emotionally neglected, mousy wife Lotte (Diaz) who devotes her life to her pets. Both actress' works are individually astounding, yet through the narrative ties, they both come together to give some of the oddest, but touching screen chemistry in a long time.

First up as Maxine, Keener's performance to me is one of most unique and fresh I have ever seen. It's the kind of work that hasn't and probably will never age (like the film itself). Maxine is written/designed as a total enigma -- and in fact the writing sets her up without much on her plate. Keener's work here transcends Charlie Kaufman's genius script, and its all in her set up and foundation. This is such the rare occasion where the actress has almost full control over the character and her actions, meaning that Keener puts forth bits and pieces of Maxine and her mysterious nature. We never see Maxine all at once, and Keener's restraint and faceted characterization helps to keep the character's engrossing appeal and attraction in tact as we grow more and more anxious to discover more about her. But Keener makes Maxine much more than just some mystery lady.

The actress utilizes her uncanny abilities/gifts as a comedienne to perfectly link with the film's surreal sense of humor to generate some pretty funny stuff, yet where Keener is continually overlooked is in the darker and deeper parts of this unusual role. I can understand how some might believe that Keener stayed on the same note and didn't do anything real deep in the part -- but I see things a bit differently. There is a subtle undercurrent of true emotion which Keener communicates and ultimatley results in the change of the character. Going from the cold, heartless femme fatale to a woman who is seeing life, love, and the world in a whole new way and the confusion, emptiness, and regret it can bear. She adds the layers then sheds them away to reveal empathetic and fully rounded humanity. It's done with a precise, nuanced actorly skill without ever coming off as mannered or shrill. That's no mean feat.

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Diaz's performance was a total shock for me the first time. I went into the movie to see Keener's performance but I ended up loving Diaz just as much. Never before or after has she been given such a role that lets her put her talents as an real actress on display and in such an unconventional way. Lotte Schwartz is the polar opposite of Maxie Lund (at first); Lotte's a frumpy frizzie-haired pet lady and Maxine is a sexy seducer -- yet both set off on an emotional/spirtual journey which changes them internally -- and this in turn brings them together. During the "pre-Malkovich" scenes, Diaz establishes the character as a woman who's life is only fufilled by caring for her beloved pets and has no direction. We get that she is seriously anxious to break out of her current position (mostly due to her husband insouciance) and wants something....else.

Well lets say she discovers something big when she experiences what it feels like to actually be someone else, in this case John Malkovich. Diaz -- with electric verve and keen understanding -- creates a highly original and emotionally textured characterization. There's an unusual spark to the performance and every moment feels so real, earthy and spontaneous which serves the role perfectly for Diaz to craft a touching and bold portrait of a woman who's life is forever changed as she slowly begins to discover herself. Lotte at first thinks that a sex change will be the answer to her problems, but then after a steamy "threesome" she realizes that her heart belongs to Maxine to whom she has a mix of unbridled lust and total love/devotion for. Maxine (who only loves Lotte while in Malkovich) betrays Lotte by abandoning her to live a life of fame with Craig (as Malkovich). Diaz digs deep and offers a performance that is infused with even more complexity than there is on the page...and its all because she completely understands this strange character -- her sense of wonder, her need to feel love and give it back, her self discovery, and eventually the emotional devastation of reality which can bite. Diaz also lets us see that she doesn't want to be someone else anymore by simply being in their skin but to be her own self and live life with the lady she loves. It's a curious case of casting which delivered more than anyone could have fathomed.

But I think what I find even more impressive in both performances is how both actress' tap into the film's themes of morality, despair, indentity, sexuality and a more darker edge of human exsistence. Both also tune their work to embody Spike Jonze's surreal vision of this world (which Cusack doesn't understand) and because of there grounded and human performances connect it back to ours.

The supporting actresses of 1999 were some of the best, exciting, and rich performances in cinematic history, and although Dear Chloe is at the tippy top of the pack, you better believe that Keener and Diaz are not far behind...