Vote on this title
Click on a gene to vote or discover related titles.
-
Mood:
- CleverOffbeatWittyGloomyHumorousMind BendingBiting
-
Plot:
- Mentally UnstableWriter's LifeObsessionSiblings RelationsArtists and ShowbizLifestyleMind and SoulFamily Relations more...
-
Genres:
- ComedyDramaIndependentPostmodernism
-
Time/Period:
- Contemporary21st Century
-
Praise:
- Award WinnerCritically AcclaimedOriginalOscar WinnerPrestigious Awards
-
Humor:
- Satire
-
Style:
- Film in FilmVoice Over
-
Attitudes:
- Semi SeriousRealistic
Does this gene fit Adaptation?
Find it on:
| IMDb | |
| Rotten Tomatoes |
Adaptation, 2002
English, Latin
USA
Profile of Adaptation
Adaptation can be described as clever, offbeat, and witty. The plot revolves around mental instability, the life of a writer, and obsession. Its comic aspect comes from satire. Adaptation's main genres are drama, comedy, and independent. In terms of style, it is postmodernist, is a film in a film, and includes a voice over. In approach, it is realistic. Adaptation takes place in contemporary times. The movie has received attention for being original, an award winner, and critically acclaimed.
Summary of Adaptation
Following up their acclaimed debut, BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and director Spike Jonze are back to metaphysical moviemaking with ADAPTATION. The film stars Nicolas Cage as both Charlie Kaufman himself and his fictionalized identical twin brother, Donald Kaufman. While the boisterous Donald freeloads off of his sibling and works on a serial-killer movie script, Charlie is tormented by both his own army of neuroses and his new project, adapting THE ORCHID THIEF by Susan Orlean into a screenplay. As Charlie struggles to shape the nonfiction novel into a film, he begins writing himself into the story of Orlean (Meryl Streep), a sad-eyed journalist, and her subject, renegade Florida flower expert John Laroche (Chris Cooper). The resulting tale extends far beyond the scope of the book, stretching from Hollywood to New York to...Hollywood four billion years ago.
Equally as inventive as BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, ADAPTATION revels in its gloriously absurd premise. Kaufman and Jonze skillfully sidestep the pitfalls of such a seemingly self-indulgent project, creating a multilayered film that focuses on the writing process as well as the nature of beauty, the beauty of nature, and dozens of other significant themes. Cage makes a stunning return to pre-Bruckheimer form in the roles of the Kaufman brothers, giving their identical appearances completely different personalities and making them believable to boot. Meanwhile, the consistently excellent Streep and the often underrated Cooper are perfectly matched as Orlean and Laroche. Even the less central roles are played by great actors--Brian Cox, Tilda Swinton, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Ron Livingston appear as supporting characters. Careening wildly between the hilarious, the ridiculous, and the poignant, Kaufman and Jonze's ADAPTATION is another fine example of their bravura yet sincere style of cinema.
Details
| Language: | English, Latin |
| Country: | USA |
| Release date: | 6 December 2002 |
| Runtime: | 114 min |
| Awards: | Academy Awards |
Awards
Cast and Crew
as Charlie Kaufman / Donald Kaufman
as Susan Orlean
as John Laroche
Photos
Clips
Critics Reviews
The New York Times
- |
- by: Dana Stevens
Newsweek
- |
- by: David Ansen
Users Reviews
- 14.August.2011
- |
- by: Evan
- Evan rated this movie
10/10Must See
- 24.April.2011
- |
- by: I Like Children
- I Like Children rated this movie10/10Must See
