Adaptation

Let’s talk about what makes a good script worth watching. We all know that Hollywood has been chunking out whatever will sell. But high ticket sells doesn’t necessarily mean that the film is a great one (Pirates of the Caribbean 2.) Every now and then, we as an audience are given something special, something new to bring a smile to our faces. And it doesn’t necessarily come from big names, or a seemingly unending budget. It comes from talented writing, and well executed acting. When it comes to writing, I give special props to several men: P.T Anderson and his script Magnolia, Christopher Noland and his work with Memento, and in this case, Charlie Kauffman and his script Adaptation.

In the film, Charlie Kauffman and Donald Kauffman are twin brothers (both played by Nicholas Cage.) Charlie is just coming off his success for the script Being John Malkovich. Handed a new idea by his agent (played by Ron Livingston,) Charlie is to adapt a book by Susan Orlean (a real author of the book, but in this case played by Meryl Streep) about a southern man named John Laroche (played by Chris Cooper,) and his obsession with the Ghost Orchid. Both brothers work diligently on their screenplays, however Charlie suffers greatly as his frustrations not only with his craft, but with his love life hinder any progress. After attending a writing seminar by Robert McKee (real screenwriter, in this case played by Brian Cox) Charlie teams together with his brother, and finds that there is more to the story of the Ghost Orchid trip than Susan Orlean wants us to believe.

It’s the smile that comes to my face that brings me back to this film over and over again. It’s all clever writing without being goofy, or cliché. Not only is the film about characters trying to survive in a story with no real plot, but it serves as a commentary on the style and process one must take to write and produce films. Think about it: it’s a story about twin screenwriters named Charlie and Donald Kauffman, and the author of Adaptation is Charlie Donald Kauffman. Though this film has somewhat of a post-modern art feel to it, I assure you it’s not nearly as pretentious (sorry to those that love post-modern art.) Charlie paces the world over and over again with his voice recorder; taking notes on what he believes will be the most successful adaptation of Susan Orlean’s story. The interesting thing is, the film you’re watching is actually the screenplay that the main character is struggling to produce.

One of the things that I love most about this film is that it really does illustrate the pain and struggles that some people experience while trying to write. I think it’s one of the better character stories, driven by twins in the same creative field. Both struggle socially, and both are trying to get their art out into the world. And though Charlie sometimes thinks very harshly of his brother, it’s through Donald that Charlie learns some of the most important lesions the film has to offer. Throughout the entire story, Charlie insists that there are stories to be told where no one learns a thing, where none of his characters change; funny thing is, in his final work (which everyone is watching) that very thing happened to each of his characters. It just makes me smile each time that I see it.

Now, take that script, and give it to a Spike Jonze, team up with a talented cast, both primary and secondary, and you’ve got quite a formula for a solid film. It’s not just the writing and acting skills that bring this film above and beyond. The technical and visual arts also illustrate a powerful command of film making. The story is cleverly cut, jumping back and forth between past events with Susan Orlean and Laroche, and the present, during the Kauffman’s examination of events. Both stories come together very well for a very pleasing smile. 7.75 of 10