Being John Malkovich Literary Elements

Being John Malkovich Literary Elements

Director

Spike Jonze

Leading Actors/Actresses

John Cusack and Cameron Diaz

Supporting Actors/Actresses

John Malkovich and Catherine Keener

Genre

Fantasy-Comedy

Language

English

Awards

Nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress for Keener

Date of Release

October 29, 1999

Producer

ichael Stipe, Sandy Stern, Steve Golin, and Vincent Landay

Setting and Context

New York City

Narrator and Point of View

Through the point of view of narrator Craig Schwartz

Tone and Mood

Comical, Whimsical, Smart, Serious, and Interesting

Protagonist and Antagonist

Craig vs. Himself

Major Conflict

The major conflict of the film is over Maxine and what she means to both Lotte and Craig.

Climax

Malkovich calls Lester and begs him to spare Maxine. With that, Craig exits Malkovich's body.

Foreshadowing

Craig performs "Craig's Dance of Despair" with a puppet at the opening, then, after entering Malkovich's body (as a puppeteer of sorts) he performs the same thing using John Malkovich's body.

Maxine asks Craig, "Are you a fag?" By the end of the movie, she's in a lesbian relationship

Understatement

The whole movie is a brilliant use of understatement. However, the existence and usage of the portal is one of the biggest examples of understatement in the entire film.

Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques

Although not innovative in filming or lighting or camera techniques, the film - particularly the shots of the portal and Craig inside of Malkovich, controlling him - is exceptionally well shot.

Allusions

Allusions to Malkovich's career, films, puppetry, references to various pop culture items, and pop culture icons.

Paradox

Maxine asks Craig, "Are you a fag?" But by the end of the movie, she's in a lesbian relationship

Parallelism

No significant examples of parallelism.

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