The two names attached to the film that required a viewing are, of course, Spike Jonze (Adaptation, Being John Malkovich) and Dave Eggers (Away We Go, You Shall Know Our Velocity).  It turns out that I put this blind faith in the right hands.  Jonze had turned the beloved children’s book by Maurice Sendak and made it into an ethereal, visceral cinematic experience.

Max (Max Records) is an imaginative, rambunctious boy who’s world is shifting at it’s very foundation when his parents get divorced and his mom (Catherine Keener) starts dating someone again (Mark Ruffalo).  Fighting to find his place he acts out and extremely sensitive, like most little boys would be.  One night, after a squabble with his mom, Max runs away, finds a small boat, which he boards and rides until he gets to the place where the wild things are.

Once he gets there, he meets a motley group of friends: Carol (James Gandolfini), Alexander (Paul Dano), Judith (Catherine O’Hara), Ira (Forest Whitaker), KW (Lauren Ambrose), and a few others.  Like Max, the group finds themselves in a state of change.  The group dynamics are shifting, and no one is really happy about it.  Before the eat Max, he convinces them that he’s a king and can solve all their problems.  Desperate for a leader to fix them, they all play along.

The feel of the film is so perfectly and beautifully lachrymose, it’s impossible not to get sucked into Max’s imagination.  The script (which Eggers had a monumental task of taking the short children’s story to a feature-length film) wasn’t pretentious or obtrusive, it was charmingly hilarious and, when it needed to be, poignant and touching.  Records is a fantastic actor.  I can’t imagine any other child actor working today that could have outdone him in this performance.  While all the wild things were great, Lauren Ambrose really managed to steal the show with her voice acting.

Cinematographer Lance Acord (Marie Antoinette, Lost in Translation) shows off his tremendous talent of framing shots and locations to create a truly unique and affecting world that perfectly contrasts all the emotions Max and his friends could possibly be struggling with.  What everyone is saying is true: it’s darker than the book, and may not be perfect for small children, but this is a masterpiece of film.

4 out of 4 stars

Spike Jonze started out as a music video director.  Directing videos for Bjork, the Beastie Boys, and others, he developed quite the style, which is immediately evident with his direction in Being John Malkovich.  Some directors that make the Jump from music videos to film put all their effort into style, and let the content (plot lines, character development, etc.) slide (unfortunately, Tarsem falls into this catagory, even though The Fall is one of my favorite films this year).  Fortunately for Jonze, Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Adaptation) wrote one helluva script that leaves you completely satisfied and yet wanting more.

The script was fresh, entertaining and wickedly funny.  One of my favorite parts follows:

“Excuse me, are you John Malkovich?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Wow, you’re really, uh, great in that movie, where you play that retard.”

“Oh, thank you very much…”

“I have a cousin who’s a retard.”

“…oh, thank you.”

“Yeah, so, um, as you might imagine, it means a lot to me to see retards portrayed on the silver screen so… compassionately.”

“Well thank you very much, I appreciate that. Good night.”

Read here for more memorable quotes from the movie.  If I can’t convince you to see this movie, those quotes will.

All the players are remarkable.  Cameron Diaz isn’t even recognizable as Lotte, the frumpy wife animal-lover, that believes she’s transgendered, once experiencing lovemaking with a woman from Malkovich’s point of view.  There’s her husband Craig (John Cusack), who just wants to share his artistic vision with the world as a puppeteer  and resents his wife for wanting children.  There’s Craig’s co-worker Maxine (Catherine Keener, who is the true star of the show) who falls in love with Lotte, but only when she inhabits Malkovich.  I’ve always felt the Academy has snubbed Catherine Keener, but they finally recognized her fantastic performance in this movie with a nomination nod.  Craig discovers a small door in his office that serves as a portal to the conscious of John Malkovich.  Because he’s in love with her, Craig shares this with Maxine who decides to rent out the experience afterhours to those who want to be somebody else.  And finally there’s John Malkovich who is, as always, (except that musketeer movie) tremendous.

I can’t praise Malkovich enough.  It is endlessly entertaining, and I gaurantee you will lose yourself in it, if you only give it a chance.

4 out of 4 stars

Rottentomatoes: 92% – Cream of the Crop: 92%

Rated R for language and sexuality.