Beyond having the coolest name in showbiz, Spike Jonze makes my favorite type of movie, so I'll give it it's own genre -- Bent (i.e. Twist or Twisted). This mind-bender, Adaptation, happens to be the motherload for him, and possibly, for all filmakers. But maybe the credit here should primarily go to the screenwriter, of whom is also the lead character of the film, Charlie Kaufman. Kaufman also paired with Jonze on Being John Malcovich but subsequently went on without him for the bizzare Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind.
The opening scene of Adaptation alone sets the stage for how ambitious this movie attemps to be and what it continues to build upon in a cresendo of mindf*ck like you've never seen. Basically, starting from the absolute beginning of time (er, the big bang) and accellerating through all the familiar events from critters crawling out of water onto land, the dinosaurs, that extinction thing, re-growth, and ultimately, to today's magical/messy chapter. And that's just the first three minutes.
This film is fantastic in every sense of the word. Surreal, but not quite as obscure as Eternal Sunshine. Nicolas Cage's dialogue with himself on his pathetic self image is brilliant and hillarious. I could talk for hours about this movie... it's recursive and complex and is literally one of the first stories I've seen that's, well, new. There's even TWO car crashes that are original. Watch, adapt and be amazed.
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