Adaptation

During what would normally be a very dramatic moment in most movies I was cracking up. I leaned over to my friend Elsa and whispered “An alligator is going to eat one of these guys!!” with absolute delight.

This wasn’t an indictment of the movie maker’s skill, it was an appreciation for it. Everything that had been foreshadowed earlier in the movie was being delivered on in full and beyond.

It’s interesting because in many reviews I’ve read of Adaptation, the major complaint is that the first two thirds are great, but that it falls apart in the last third. As a whole it seems these folks didn’t catch what was happening, how the movie was modifying itself as we watched, adapting, and making itself more commercial. Fulfilling the original screen writer’s worst fears, but following the advice he received in the screen writing seminar. From the moment he brings his brother on board to help the movie includes everything he listed in what he didn’t want the movie to be about. But it succeeds is wowing them in the end.

So Adaptation has ended up being my favorite movie of all time because of this and many other things.

It's the story of two brothers - one paralyzed by concern of what other people think of him, living a life of extreme introspection. The other oblivious to the opinions of others and who gives no thought at all to what he does.

It's the story of a person who's passion is extreme and temporary and moves from one thing to another with no permanence in his life, and a person with no passion for anything.

It's about adaptation, not really the Darwinian kind, but the kind we all go through every day when we interact with each other. How we adjust to our circumstances to just get by. It plays with so many ideas that I'm fascinated by.

And it begins with one of the most amazing monologues ever in a movie.

Just writing about this movie makes me want to watch it all over again. Although it's not to everyone's taste, if you do watch it I hope you enjoy it as well. Here's a link to the trailer, enjoy!