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Actors: Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Tilda Swinton, Chris Cooper, Cara Seymour
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Adaptation |
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The creative team behind Being John Malkovich -- director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman -- return with this equally offbeat comedy, in which Kaufman himself becomes the leading character. Charlie Kaufman (Nicolas Cage) is a gifted but profoundly neurotic screenwriter who, after the success of Being John Malkovich, has been hired to write a script adapted from the nonfiction book The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean. But while Charlie is obsessive about his work, he's also intensely paranoid, given to deep depression, socially inept, and terrified of talking to women, qualities which are making it difficult to get on with his work or hold on to his tenuous relationship with girlfriend Amelia (Cara Seymour). Meanwhile, Charlie's identical twin brother, Donald Kaufman (also played by Cage), has shown up to move in with his brother. Emotionally, Donald is Charlie's polar opposite -- a loudmouthed, over-confident, superficial party animal who has an easy way with the ladies. Donald has decided to follow his brother's footsteps and take up screenwriting as well, but embracing the dictates of screenwriting tutor Robert McKee (Brian Cox), he's cranking out a cliché-ridden serial-killer thriller when not busy making time with new girlfriend Caroline (Maggie Gyllenhaal). As Donald blazes through his screenplay, Charlie slowly picks away at his story, in which author Susan Orlean (Meryl Streep) chronicles John Laroche (Chris Cooper), a scruffy but devoted plant enthusiast who tries to save rare species of orchids by stealing them from their natural home in the swamps of Florida. As John and Susan become better acquainted, they find themselves attracted to one another; similarly, Charlie finds himself increasingly fascinated with Susan, and finds himself falling in love with her, even though he's only seen her photo on the dust jacket of her book. Charlie arranges to meet Susan, but is too nervous to confront her face to face, so he sends Donald (who has just scored a seven-figure deal for his script) in his place, while he attends a screenwriting seminar held by McKee. Adaptation also features Tilda Swinton, Judy Greer, and Stephen Tobolowsky.
--Tanya McKnight, Resident Scholar
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This movie is loosely based on the experiences during the writing of this movie, by neurotic screenwriter Charlie Kaufman.
The film starts with Charlie agreeing to write an adaptation of non-fiction book about orchids by (Susan Orlean), an intellectual journaling for "The New Yorker" magazine.
During his exposition, he finds himself in a dramatic psycological conflict whereby he battles with writer's block, shyness, self-doubt, and mental anguish. The ancillary story follows Streep's character, as she follows a rare orchid hunter around the florida everglades; which soon develops into obsession and illicit love affair.
--Michael E., Resident Scholar
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Charlie Kaufman's latest screenplay, Being John Malkovich, is being shot, and now he's ready to tackle another project. It's called "The Orchid Thief", and it's based on a book by Susan Orlean. His twin brother, Donald is meanwhile taking a screen-writing seminar, and Charlie doesn't approve. We also see how Susan got the idea for her book. A man named John Laroche, who has no front teeth stole orchids off the swamps of Florida. Charlie is having trouble with his script, while Donald has just won praise from a lot of people. Now, Charlie decides to meet Susan, personally, but his shyness gets the better of him.
--Estefan Ellison, Resident Scholar
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Charlie Kauffman is willing to write a script about an Orchid Thief base on the book of a New York journalist. Charlie and Donald Kauffman are twins, together they are searching for truth about this book.
--M.Y.Prasetyo, Resident Scholar
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VERY loosely based on _The Orchid Thief_, Susan Orlean's bestselling nonfiction book about American orchid obsession and a theft of endangered orchids from the Florida everglades, this 2002 film is primarily about screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's struggle to write a script based on the book. He has problems with girls, is obsessed about his looks, and can't seem to find a way to dramatize the Orlean book after accepting the project. His twin brother Donald, a smiling, clueless nincompoop who seems to have no trouble getting girls and dreaming up preposterous script ideas, is no help either. Streep appears as Orlean, and the movie (responding to Kaufman's manipulations) takes great liberties with her as a character as well as John Laroche (Cooper), the obsessive orchid thief. Maggie Gyllenhaal and Brian Cox appear in supporting roles, and John Cusack, Catherine Keener, and John Malkovich are among the personages who make brief appearances as themselves. (Kaufman and director Spike Jonze's last project together was the marvelous "Being John Malkovich.") A wacky, off-balance movie that unfortunately bobbles its way in the final half hour.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Adaptation |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- present (2000-2010)
Inner struggle or disability
Yes
Struggle with
- (General) search for meaning/identity
Job/Profession/Poverty Story?
Yes
Job:
- writer
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- writer
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric:
Yes
- eccentric
- emotionally unstable
Hair color?
- brunette (Brown)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
- (man) short/standard curly
Body type
- (man) average
Unclothed?
- Chest
Events of movie makes character more...
- aggressive
- happy
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- soggy whimpering jelly muffin
Sense of humor?
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
- Female
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
- blonde
Hair style
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn straight
Body type
- (man) average build
How much in movie?
- 60%
- 80%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- general circumstances
Eccentric:
Yes
- emotionally unstable
- obsessed
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Southeast
- West
- Northeast
- California
City?
Yes
City:
- New York
- Los Angeles
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Movie makes you feel...
- thoughtful
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- kissing
- touching of personal anatomy
- seeing breasts
- seeing nude male butt
- sex under blankets
Any profanity?
- Some foul language
Is this movie based on a
- book
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TOP SCHOLAR:
 Michael E.
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