--- title: "Being John Malkovich: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/being-john-malkovich/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/being-john-malkovich" critics_score: 86 critics_reviews: 16 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Being John Malkovich (1999): what the critics said Critics' score 86 from 16 reviews: 16 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. The reviews are unanimous in favour. Nearly every critic reaches for the word original, and most credit Charlie Kaufman’s script first, for holding to its own logic while the premise gets stranger, and Spike Jonze’s direction second, for playing the absurdity straight. The performances draw the next cluster of praise: Malkovich sending himself up, and Catherine Keener and Cameron Diaz cast against expectation. Several later reviews find the film’s ideas about celebrity and identity have grown more pointed with time. The spread is narrow. Where reservations appear they concern stamina rather than conception. The Independent finds the first three-quarters of an hour hilarious and fears the film runs out of steam after that, and Time Out thinks it loses its way once the sexual rivalries take over. Slant Magazine, rating it similarly, locates the only honest relationship in the film between Lotte and a chimpanzee. Nobody disputes the premise; the argument is about whether the film sustains it. ## Radio Times — Alan Jones Rating 5/5. The review describes the film as a crazy, surreal comedy that dazzles with its daring originality as a metaphysical fantasy while pondering identity and gender. It singles out the subversive, Kafkaesque mind trip and the classic sequence inside Malkovich's head as highlights. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-cp6tha/being-john-malkovich/) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Rating A. 16 May 2012. The critic praises the film as one of the most original American comedies of its time whose themes of identity and desire have only grown more resonant. It singles out Charlie Kaufman's script for its emotional complexity, framing the surreal story as ultimately a passionate love story. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/being-john-malkovich-1798172825) ## Empire — Caroline Westbrook Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2013. The critic calls the film dazzlingly original and one of the most startling pictures in a long time, managing to be hysterically funny and achingly poignant. Jonze and Kaufman's script and the performances, especially Malkovich sending himself up, are singled out as outstanding. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/john-malkovich-review/) ## Film Comment — Chris Chang Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). The film is celebrated as a paradoxically cerebral yet ridiculous debut that brilliantly extends the director's offbeat, visually illogical commercial idiom to feature length. It singles out the inspired casting of Malkovich as elevating the actor to an axiom while probing displaced desire, celebrity, and identity through surreal persona transfer. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/head-wide-open-being-john-malkovich/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 29 October 1999. The critic calls the film a clever and outrageous piece of whimsical fantasy that is unique and unpredictable, praising its surreal premise, playful dialogue, and the way Jonze and Kaufman treat the bizarre scenario as normal while slyly raising philosophical questions about identity. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-29-ca-27339-story.html) ## Sight and Sound — Jonathan Romney Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). The critic calls the film an incredibly rich and entertaining metaphysical comedy that transcends its premise through its inquiry into personality, fame, and desire. They single out the subversive use of Malkovich's image and the strong, unexpected performances, especially from Catherine Keener. [Read the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/304) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 17 March 2000. The critic hails the film as one of the funniest and cleverest of the year, an outrageous comedy of pure gold with an unanswerably brilliant premise. They single out the inventive script and direction for turning the absurd concept into a sustained delirium of comedy that also touches on celebrity and identity. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/mar/17/1) ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin Rating NYT Critic’s Pick. 1 October 1999. Festival review. The critic finds the film endearingly nutty and the most fun version of its identity-swapping premise, calling it an irresistible first feature by Spike Jonze with a terrific screenplay by Charlie Kaufman that turns identity inside out. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/01/movies/film-festival-reviews-a-portal-leading-to-self-parody.html) ## Total Film Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 17 March 2000. The review praises the film as twisted, smart, funny, demented and hugely entertaining, one of the most thrillingly original movies Hollywood has produced. It highlights the surreal comic fantasy, the deranged and hilarious metaphysical theme-park ride, and the performances that make it work. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/being-john-malkovich-review/) ## Variety — David Rooney Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 3 September 1999. Festival review. The critic calls the film a bracingly original metaphysical comic love story with an endlessly resourceful script that retains its own logic despite absurdity. They single out Jonze's focus on performances and the cast's embrace of the wild material, especially Malkovich's game self-parody. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1999/film/reviews/being-john-malkovich-1117752080/) ## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 17 August 2001. The film is a Kafkaesque romp that grapples with celebrity, identity and subconscious desire through a surrealist style indebted to Buñuel and Svankmajer. It singles out the pure, non-sexual relationship between Lotte and her chimpanzee Elijah as the one honest element amid the characters' existential pursuits. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/being-john-malkovich/) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 7 November 1999. Festival review. The critic finds the first 45 minutes stunningly original and hilarious, but fears it runs out of steam later. They single out the film's surreal conceit and John Malkovich's unique persona for praise. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-studies-bald-blank-brainy-it-can-only-be-john-malkovich-1123899.html) ## Time Out — TCh Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 13 June 2012. The critic calls the film a true original from the demented minds of Jonze and Kaufman, describing it as a hundred-carat cult item that must be seen to be believed. They single out Malkovich's willingness to play along for praise while noting it loses its way a little in the sex-war department. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/being-john-malkovich) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 2001. The critic calls the film a triumph of imagination as the feature debut for both Jonze and Kaufman. They single out its outlandish, surreal scenario and the unexpected performances, especially Malkovich's graceful handling of the humiliations and Diaz's transformation. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/being-john-malkovich-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) ## The Ringer — Rob Harvilla Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 25 March 2019. The critic hails the film as a head-trip masterpiece and the best of 1999, lauding its surreal premise involving a portal into Malkovich’s mind along with its blend of whimsy, darkness, and metaphysical ideas. They single out the inventive storytelling, strong performances (including Cusack, Diaz, and Keener), and how it remains intellectually provocative and darkly funny two decades later. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2019/03/25/movies/being-john-malkovich-spike-jones-best-movies-1999) ## The Skinny — Peter Simpson Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 18 February 2025. The critic views the film as a beguiling and prescient work that remains relevant 25 years on for its take on celebrity, parasocial relationships and identity. It singles out the film's surreal flourishes and existential depth, particularly the unsettling experience of entering another person's consciousness. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/opinion/head-canon-being-john-malkovich-in-the-social-media-age) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/being-john-malkovich.md