/major spoilers
Basically, I just wanna say the ending of Adaptation and my thoughts, alright? If you haven't seen the film, please don't read this.
Charlie Kaufman's script about the Orchid Thief was going nowhere, so his twin brother, Donald (his other half! Ha!) began helping. Donald's screenwriting style was in great contrast to his brother's, employing by-the-book techniques and eye-rolling cliches. Charlie, in an autobiographical sense, writes deep, mind-bending films that contain no easy answers and kind of screw with you. He can't write the Orchid Thief, Susan Orlean's bestseller, in a straightforward way.
Yet, Charlie's deadline is approaching and he just needs to have something on paper. So, Donald, gets his ideas, cliche-ridden.
At this point, the author, Susan Orlean, has become suspicious in the eyes of Charlie and Donald. The two soon discover that Orlean is a drug-addict, getting high off a chemical in Ghost Orchid flowers. She also is sleeping with John LaRoche, the man whom The Orchid Thief is based on.
The two screenwriters must confront Orlean, in hopes of helping her. When they do confront her, though, she threatens to kill them both if they write about her sexual relationship and drug abuse in their script. A hot-pursuit car chase ensues. Donald, as a result, is killed brutally.
Later, though, Charlie falls in love with a girl with whom he used to go out. Things appear to be better for Charlie as his depression and self-loathing seem to have subsided. He drives off into the bright sunset, and the credits soon roll in.
Kaufmanesque? Well, yes. Totally. Because, of course, it's all satire and far more complicated than meets the eye.
First off, Donald is an extension of Charlie's mind. That's a given. We see this as Donald takes over the script. The Donald side of Charlie's brain invades as the deadline approaches.
With this, the film shifts. What had been a cynical, creative film had turned into a Hollywood thriller. Orlean never really was a suspicious person and all these drugs, violence, sex and deus ex machina were simply incorporated by Donald. All of these cliches that come with it are an ode to modern Hollywood. These themes come into the script (and therefore, the film) as Donald takes the reins. Isn't that incredibly clever? Kaufman took the feelings and actions of his characters, had that influence the screenplay, which went on to influence the actual film.
Yet, I have some reservations. Twisting the film on itself, as was done during he last fourth of the film, and making a whole different tone and premise makes me wonder. Was it all worth it? I mean, yes, it was and that was the film Kaufman wanted to make. It displayed the whole film's theme of how Hollywood...sucks. It was satire! It was a very creative way of telling the story. But did I 100% enjoy this last fourth of the film? Maybe not.
Basically, I just wanna say the ending of Adaptation and my thoughts, alright? If you haven't seen the film, please don't read this.
Charlie Kaufman's script about the Orchid Thief was going nowhere, so his twin brother, Donald (his other half! Ha!) began helping. Donald's screenwriting style was in great contrast to his brother's, employing by-the-book techniques and eye-rolling cliches. Charlie, in an autobiographical sense, writes deep, mind-bending films that contain no easy answers and kind of screw with you. He can't write the Orchid Thief, Susan Orlean's bestseller, in a straightforward way.
Yet, Charlie's deadline is approaching and he just needs to have something on paper. So, Donald, gets his ideas, cliche-ridden.
At this point, the author, Susan Orlean, has become suspicious in the eyes of Charlie and Donald. The two soon discover that Orlean is a drug-addict, getting high off a chemical in Ghost Orchid flowers. She also is sleeping with John LaRoche, the man whom The Orchid Thief is based on.
The two screenwriters must confront Orlean, in hopes of helping her. When they do confront her, though, she threatens to kill them both if they write about her sexual relationship and drug abuse in their script. A hot-pursuit car chase ensues. Donald, as a result, is killed brutally.
Later, though, Charlie falls in love with a girl with whom he used to go out. Things appear to be better for Charlie as his depression and self-loathing seem to have subsided. He drives off into the bright sunset, and the credits soon roll in.
Kaufmanesque? Well, yes. Totally. Because, of course, it's all satire and far more complicated than meets the eye.
First off, Donald is an extension of Charlie's mind. That's a given. We see this as Donald takes over the script. The Donald side of Charlie's brain invades as the deadline approaches.
With this, the film shifts. What had been a cynical, creative film had turned into a Hollywood thriller. Orlean never really was a suspicious person and all these drugs, violence, sex and deus ex machina were simply incorporated by Donald. All of these cliches that come with it are an ode to modern Hollywood. These themes come into the script (and therefore, the film) as Donald takes the reins. Isn't that incredibly clever? Kaufman took the feelings and actions of his characters, had that influence the screenplay, which went on to influence the actual film.
Yet, I have some reservations. Twisting the film on itself, as was done during he last fourth of the film, and making a whole different tone and premise makes me wonder. Was it all worth it? I mean, yes, it was and that was the film Kaufman wanted to make. It displayed the whole film's theme of how Hollywood...sucks. It was satire! It was a very creative way of telling the story. But did I 100% enjoy this last fourth of the film? Maybe not.
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1 comment:
I remember when it came out how everyone hated the last twenty minutes, I don't love 'em exactly, but the energy in them is unbelievable.
Few people have been able to convey the madness of creative rush like he does in that screenplay, it's as if the movie is writing/building itself in front of our eyes.
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