Adaptation

Adaptation (2002) starring Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Tilda Swinton, Cara Seymour, Brian Cox, Judy Greer. Directed by Spike Jonze. In a unique melding of screenwriter's and director's sensibilities, Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief is brought to the screen -- in unrecognizable form. Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman becomes a character in his own screenplay, as he struggles to adapt The Orchid Thief into a movie. The book is a nonfiction account of John LaRoche, a real-life orchid collector who lives in Florida, and has scarcely any plot to speak of. It's beautifully written, however, which is probably why it got optioned to be made into a film. Kaufman apparently struggled with finding a way to convert the book into a movie, and ended up writing his struggles into the plot of the film. Jonze, to his credit, goes with the idea and enthusiastically directs it into this twisty, turny, weird movie. This is a crazy mixed-up film, and it won't be to everyone's taste. As for me, I was somewhat disappointed. (Subtitles are available in English, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B