Movie/DVD Review

Adaptation is worth seeing for Nic Cage's priceless facial expressions alone. And don't even get me started on his hair. It's a quirky, unique, thinking person's movie, with more than enough subplots to keep viewers engrossed from start to finish. First, it is a story about a Hollywood screenwriter, Charlie (Cage), struggling to write a screenplay out of a book called "The Orchid Thief", the author of which is played by Meryl Streep. This is intertwined with a story about Charlie and his relationship with his twin brother Donald, also played by Cage, who we are never sure of his actual existence, or if he is simply Charlie's haunting alter ego. Donald irritates and annoys Charlie, and is a struggling screenwriter who goes the "Hollywood" route with his mundane and already-been-done, yet ultimately successful movie ideas. Another story develops about the author, Susan Orlean (Streep), who gets a bit too wrapped up in her subjects, in her search for her own happiness in life. These include John LaRoche (Chris Cooper) a Florida redneck obsessed with rare orchids, and the actual orchids themselves. Then there is the overall theme of Hollywood as an "Industry", which is always amusing. I particularly love the banter between Charlie and Donald about screenplay ideas, and getting "in" with Hollywood.

The main actors are top caliber: Nicholas Cage, Meryl Streep, and Chris Cooper. The acting is excellent, and the character development is thorough, almost to a fault. I wasn't thrilled with the last 30 minutes of the movie however, I felt that it really lost it's grip on the reality realm at this point. But I saw the movie with my father who thought this part validated the entire proceeding section of the film. Overall, Adaptation has a few flaws, but the outstanding acting and sheer creativeness of the plot more than make up for them.