Adaptation.
I had to really think about what to write about this, as ghost orchid is a maguffin, but even more then that, it’s a metaphor That represent something different for the various characters in this film.
For Charlie Kauffman (Nic Cage) it represents the loneliness that crushes him. There’s a scenes where he talks about a flower and seems to compare them to each woman that walks by. He’s lonely, and full of self doubt and self loathing. He’s neurotic. And he has writers block at the worst time.
For John Laroche (Chris Cooper)it represents his rebellion. A life after his marriage fell apart. A life after a car accident claimed his mother’s and uncles life, And put his wife into a coma, of which he had been the driver. A life where his green house that he owned was destroyed by a hurricane. He doesn’t come off as bitter, but sees himself as some savior now. He hunts ghost orchids, knowing their protected status, for his own purposes. It’s almost as if he is getting revenge against God for his past misfortunes, and corrupting something as rare and beautiful as the Ghost Orchid was the most petty thing could think of.
And Susan Orlean, (Meryl Streep) it represents a new life, an escape, one where one she can feel something again. She starts an affair with Laroche, and even gets involved in his activities.
All of the actors are great in here.
Cage isn’t an actor I usually enjoy, but very rarely he can turn in a really good performance. This is one of them. He even plays twins who couldn’t be more different.
Cooper plays Laroche with egocentricity, and thief who thinks too highly of himself. He would have people think that he is a conservationist, but the truth is more disappointing. It’s almost as if he had a breakdown after his life fell apart and he’s been lost since. There’s a scene where he leads Susan into the swamp and they get lost and he tries to make things up as he goes along to make himself believe they’re ok. And I’ll be damned if that itself isn’t a metaphor for his life.
Streep is, of course, the best of the three. She is lonely, and she doesn’t even realize it until she meets Laroche. Streep plays her with a underlying vulnerability that belies the sophisticated, successfull author she’s hailed as. And Streep looks lovely in this.
Jones goes a meta approach as the character is based on an actual screen writer friend of his. The two combined to do the amazing Being John Malcovich, Which the filming of makes an appearance in Adaptation. And we all can remember how trippy that film was. The film follows each character dealing with their own issues as it hops back and forth between 3 years earlier and now, Kaufman trying to adapt the book Orlean wrote about Laroche, Orlean Trying to write her book.
Meanwhile, Charlie’s lazy brother, Donald, is writing his own screenplay and Charlie looks down on him.
I could go and on, but space doesn’t allow it. This film is amazing. It is not without its flaws, as I felt the Orleans characters sudden change at the end was a little forced. I get she was desperate, but She went from A to B rather too quickly. It would have made more sense had it been Laroche making that decision. The subsequent chase suffered as a result. But overall the film was great.
Thanks for who ever picked this for me