By: Keaton Marcus

PREFACE:

Phew, that’s a lot of existentialism for one person to handle. Anyway, after binge-watching all of his films, I have decided to start a little series of write-ups called “Director Spotlight” beginning with the one and only Charlie Kaufman. I will save most of my thoughts on him as a director/writer and his movies later, but he’s definitely one of my favorites alongside the Coen brothers and Denis Villeneuve.

ABOUT:

Charlie Kaufman was born on November 19, 1958, in New York City. He wrote his first movie, Being John Malkovich, which released in 1999 to immediate critical success. As he climbed to the ranks as one of the promising new writers in Hollywood, he wrote Human Nature to mixed reception (I even decided to skip this one) and then collaborated with George Clooney for Confessions of a Dangerous Mind which received mostly positive reviews. Never fear, however, because he returned better than ever with Adaptation in 2002, and then Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which is considered his masterpiece as well as it is his most popular and acclaimed. He was absolutely on fire. Four years later, he made his directorial debut with Synecdoche, New York, considered a solid and promising start to his career as a director. He didn’t make his next film until he wrote and directed Anomalisa, which was actually an animated feature. Generally well-received, he wrote and directed I’m Thinking of Ending Things last year, a brilliant mind fucker that released on Netflix last year.

MY RANKING:

I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Adaptation (2002)
Anamolisa (2015)
Synecdoche, New York (2008)
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)

COMMON THEMES:

Identity
Existentialism
The Human Condition
Gender Identity
The Meaning of Life

MY THOUGHTS ON HIM:

As I stated before, Charlie Kaufman has become one of my favorite directors and writers of all-time. I was inspired just last year to watch all of his movies after seeing I’m Thinking of Ending Things on Netflix, a movie that profoundly touched my soul and still stands as his best film in my opinion. It’s not the only masterpiece that he’s achieved, however. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is also quite extraordinary, about a man who upon the point of finding that his girlfriend erased him from her memory, attempts to do the same. Literally, every concept in a Kaufman movie is original, unique, and different from the last, which is one of the many things I adore about this man. Adaptation is a fictional take on Kaufman struggling as a screenwriter, crumbling in the shadow of his far more successful twin brother, Anamolisa is a gorgeously-made animated movie depicting the sheer banality and indifference of its main character’s existence (everyone he hears has the same voice), Synecdoche, New York is about a playwright, who after initial success, decides to build a lifesize model of New York inside a warehouse for his next on. Being John Malkovich is literally about a doorway into the actor’s mind, and finally, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, which although isn’t necessarily a good movie, still has a badass premise. He tackles themes of identity, existentialism, the human condition, the meaning of life, and even gender identity in his most perfect filmography. I have enjoyed all seven that I have watched, and although COADM was mediocre at best, it was still an enjoyable experience. Overall, I am in great anticipation to see what Charlie Kaufman does next.