Charlie Kaufman is an anxious screenwriter who lives in Los Angeles with his twin brother, Donald. Charlie was commissioned by the producers to adapt Susan Orlin's book The Orchid Thief. He works hard and hopes to deliver on time. The Orchid Thief is based on the maverick orchid thief John LaRoche, who lives in Florida. Meanwhile, Charlie's encumbered brother, Donald, is also writing his own script: The Story of a Serial Killer, titled "Three."
As Charlie devotes himself to adapting the story of The Orchid Thief, we viewers slowly learn what the story is about—New Yorker reporter Orlene (Meryl Streep) meets the thief La Roche, the two love each other.
Charlie had been working so hard to adapt the script, but he suddenly had an idea and decided to include himself in a key part of the script. Unable to figure out how to set the ending for the script, Charlie came to New York to meet with Orleen. But he never dared to contact Orlyn because of his nervousness and anxiety. Charlie finds Donald and asks Donald to play himself to meet with Orlyn. The twins followed Orlene to Florida. They discovered that, even though The Orchid Thief had been out for three years, Orlene was still connected to La Roche. The two brothers spy on the couple secretly, but are noticed. And so, near La Roche's secluded residence on the edge of the wetlands, a chase scene unfolds. In the end, both Donald and La Roche tragically died. Charlie completed the script after returning to Los Angeles.
Director Spike Jones and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman began with "Becoming John Malkovich" (1999), and this film is the second work between the two. At the beginning of the film, we can vaguely see the actual crew filming "Becoming John Malkovich", including photographer Lance Arcod. At the time, Markovic was directing employees to work harder and more seriously. Standing in the background of the scene is the neurotic Kaufman—but not the real screenwriter, but the wig-wearing Nicholas Cage. And thus, a great film about how to write a movie is staged.
During the writing of the script, brother Donald asked Charlie for advice, and when Charlie heard the plot twist, he invoked the Ouroboros to describe the plot. The Ouroboros is a symbol whose image is a snake that is eating its own tail, and the "Adaptation" is such a Ouroboros. Thinking about the self-referential process of Adapting the Screenplay can leave your head in knots. The story begins when the real-life Kaufman goes to great lengths to adapt Orlene's non-fiction. He accomplished this adaptation by dramatizing the dilemma he encountered during the adaptation, using his on-screen alter ego to stitch together his own story with the plot drawn from the book. In the film, the hero Charlie also came to the same conclusion: he can only decipher Orleen's writings if he incorporates himself into the script he creates.
In other words, the plot in "Adapted Script" is exactly the script Charlie finally wrote. Various events on the screen, such as Charlie dictating to the tape recorder, are repetitions of Charlie's process of planning the script, and he does not want the script to be tainted by traditional Hollywood elements. "I didn't want to be stuffed into sex, guns, car chases, or the fact that the protagonists learned a profound philosophy of life, grew up, and started to love each other," Charlie explained his creative philosophy.
And the irony is that Charlie finds himself unable to end the script any other way—essentially the third act of the Adapted Script film itself. As we've seen, Charlie's voyeurism is uncovered after Orlene and La Roche's sex scene, followed by a shootout in the wetlands, followed by a car chase. At the same time, Charlie learns the old "be yourself" philosophy: "Be who you love, not who others love you." It's at these moments that Adaptation transcends its purity structuring techniques, explores some interesting questions. From Charlie's actual dying exchange with Donald, to Charlie's confession of Amelia (who, for most of the film, is the girl Charlie dreams of), the film's ending is all in line with the advice given to Charlie by master screenwriter McKee: "Your characters have to change, and that change can only come from themselves."
The English name of the film is "adaptation". In addition to "adaptation", "adaptation" also means "adaptation". The name of the film is "adaptation", precisely to take its pun meaning - adaptation. Therefore, adaptation, or evolution, is the theme of this film.
From the majestic "evolutionary" presentation at the beginning of the film to the flashbacks of Charles Darwin afterward, Charlie Kaufman has been reminding us of one thing: In order to survive, we must adapt. La Roche even had Darwin's tapes on the van, his interest shifting from tropical fish to orchids to the internet of the era: "You know why I like plants? Because they're fickle. Adaptation is a meaning A far-reaching process. It means you find a way to survive in this world."
By the end, Charlie had learned to adapt—both in life and in play. He eventually changed his mind and, following McKee's advice, gave the film the stereotypes of sex, guns and car chases. "I like that," he concluded. "It's good." These are both a deconstruction of screenwriting skills and an endorsement of screenwriting skills. He reflects on adaptation with a sour attitude, but eventually recognizes the need for adaptation.
Imagine an "artist" who wants to shoot real life: walking, working, eating, masturbating, sleeping - that is, in this film, there is not much story going on. For the average audience, then, the last thing that is needed is this kind of truth. We are already living this life day in and day out, why do we need to go to the cinema to relive it again? To suffocate yourself (McGee)? Film practitioners may need to experiment with films, they may want to study techniques, but for most audiences, their going to the cinema is just a distraction. The role of the market is to get people who want to buy entertainment to get the entertainment they want. That's all.
You have no problem making Empire State Building, but you can't allow yourself to fall into a pathetic narcissism (typically Bi Zhifei), you have to have a clear understanding in your heart: if you can't provide what the audience needs, the audience won't treat you works of interest.
"Adaptation" doesn't fall into the "self-indulgence," "narcissism," and "self-centeredness" that Charlie fears, in part because of the actors' performances. Cage's masterful role reversal leaves viewers with enough sympathy for both the neurotic Charlie and the overconfident Donald; Oscar-winner Cooper pays homage to La Roche with a vibrant performance, and Streep remains Bright and radiant, her ecstatic appearance after smoking orchid extract is especially worth seeing.
All that said, the absence of any mention of director Jones is a testament to how knowledgeable he is—allowing the intricacies of Kaufman's script to unfold without interfering with it.
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