John Malkovich: Five Films for Newcomers
Happy birthday to John Malkovich! I’ve always described him as Nicolas Cage if he were classically trained; I personally think that fits his acting style perfectly. Both gripping and certifiably bonkers, Malkovich is always a delight to watch when he is on the big screen. He’s taken on many interesting and bizarre projects, but capturing the array of his talents into five films is, as usual, a challenge; can we capture more than just his fun, weird side? I feel like I’ve done just that, to honour an actor who frankly deserves more kudos for his range. Here are five films to newcomers of the works of John Malkovich.
5. Ripley’s Game
A few actors have played the memorable character of Tom Ripley, and while Ripley’s Game isn’t certainly the best film surrounding him (I might have to go with Wim Wenders’ The American Friend), I do think that Malkovich brings a certain mystery to the role unlike any other actor before or after him. It’s an interesting role for an interesting man: a match made in heaven. Ripley’s Game is a straight forward take on Ripley, but it’s Malkovich that gives it a ton of tangible life.
4. The Glass Menagerie
Malkovich wasn’t always off the walls (to a degree), and seeing him at his rawest as an actor is always quite a treat. Could there be a better example of this than The Glass Menagerie, where he brings the words of Tennessee Williams to life? Embodying the hysteria, claustrophobia, and self destruction that Tom Wingfield demands, Malkovich is personally one of my favourite actors to take on the iconic part; partially for what he brings to the role, but mostly for what the role brings out of him.
3. In the Line of Fire
Although Malkovich likes to cross the line into silliness when it comes to being a campy, juicy villain, he has done this kind of role superbly before, in In the Line of Fire. Across Clint Eastwood’s stoic persona, Malkovich plays an assassin gone rogue, with weird murdering methods (that zip gun is forever iconic). He could have gone full ham, but instead Malkovich reveals a more textured side of this kind of bad guy. It’s honestly a take I wish we saw more often with Malkovich, who can rely on oddness often.
2. Of Mice and Men
Going back to the theme of iconic characters being performed by John Malkovich, I will go on record and say that no one has done Lennie Small better than him. In the 1992 version of Of Mice and Men, Malkovich nails the grey area between being a unique character and a complicated mind. Not once does Small here feel goofy or inappropriate, and his dark side is oddly sympathetic when it could have felt unnecessarily abrupt. Malkovich can absolutely control his characters to the nth degree when he wants to, and his masterful work in Of Mice and Men is proof of this.
1. Being John Malkovich
Of course, the best role John Malkovich has ever had is being John Malkovich in Being John Malkovich. Being a satirical version of himself, John Malkovich makes the legacy of John Malkovich as strange as possible. When John Malkovich dips into his own psyche and becomes John Malkovich in a world of John Malkoviches who can only speak in “Malkovich”es, that’s when things get amazing. After the John Malkotrip, John Malkovich delivers some golden angry, comedic ranting in only the way John Malkovich acting as John Malkovich in Being John Malkovich can. Okay, moving on…
1. Being John Malkovich
Of course, the best role John Malkovich has ever had is being John Malkovich in Being John Malkovich. Being a satirical version of himself, John Malkovich makes the legacy of John Malkovich as strange as possible. When John Malkovich dips into his own psyche and becomes John Malkovich in a world of John Malkoviches who can only speak in “Malkovich”es, that’s when things get amazing. After the John Malkotrip, John Malkovich delivers some golden angry, comedic ranting in only the way John Malkovich acting as John Malkovich in Being John Malkovich can. Okay, moving on…
1. Being John Malkovich
Of course, the best role John Malkovich has ever had is being John Malkovich in Being John Malkovich. Being a satirical version of himself, John Malkovich makes the legacy of John Malkovich as strange as possible. When John Malkovich dips into his own psyche and becomes John Malkovich in a world of John Malkoviches who can only speak in “Malkovich”es, that’s when things get amazing. After the John Malkotrip, John Malkovich delivers some golden angry, comedic ranting in only the way John Malkovich acting as John Malkovich in Being John Malkovich can. Okay, moving on…
1. Being John Malkovich
Of course, the best role John Malkovich has ever had is being John Malkovich in Being John Malkovich. Being a satirical version of himself, John Malkovich makes the legacy of John Malkovich as strange as possible. When John Malkovich dips into his own psyche and becomes John Malkovich in a world of John Malkoviches who can only speak in “Malkovich”es, that’s when things get amazing. After the John Malkotrip, John Malkovich delivers some golden angry, comedic ranting in only the way John Malkovich acting as John Malkovich in Being John Malkovich can. Okay, moving on…
1. Being John Malkovich
Of course, the best role John Malkovich has ever had is being John Malkovich in Being John Malkovich. Being a satirical version of himself, John Malkovich makes the legacy of John Malkovich as strange as possible. When John Malkovich dips into his own psyche and becomes John Malkovich in a world of John Malkoviches who can only speak in “Malkovich”es, that’s when things get amazing. After the John Malkotrip, John Malkovich delivers some golden angry, comedic ranting in only the way John Malkovich acting as John Malkovich in Being John Malkovich can. Okay, moving on…
1. Being John Malkovich
Of course, the best role John Malkovich has ever had is be-okay I’m good. Happy birthday, JM!
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.