The Last Strech of Road

Adaptaion was last film of the semester last week, and I have to admit I'll be missing our movie nights. This film is a self-narrated story of a screenwriter, who at the moment is struggling to make something out of a book he's reading, called The Orchid Thief. All the characters this film are people in real life, except for Kaufman's brother Donald, who was added into the film. The author of The Orchid Thief is Susan Orlean, presently a real NY Times writer. In this film Kaufman is assigned to "adapt" this non-fiction story into a screenplay, but there's only one problem: the book contains no elements that make a commercial and popular film. It is beautifully written, but as Kaufman the screenwriter says, "nothing happens". The rest of the film spirals into the stories of Kaufman and Orlean, as Kaufman tries to imagine her experiences with a plant lover called McKee, and it finally turns into "Hollywood" film when the story gets crazier and crazier. Adding in drugs, scandal, sex, and guns towards the end got you hooked for a minute, but left you with the impression that it was pretty ridiculous too. Kaufman is caught up in all of this, but escapes without a scratch and the film ends with him driving in the distance, after having proclaimed his feelings to the love of his life and presenting the successful screenplay of the book, all topped off with a cheesy pop song.

We discussed in class that this is the outline that most "Hollywood" films seem to follow, and how shallow it can become. The contrast between Kaufman and his brother Donald serves to illuminate this point. Donald writes a screenplay and finishes it in the middle of the film, and as terrible and idiotic as it seemed, it was praised and was to become a movie soon. The only thing he had to do was make something for the common person in society, one who wants to be entertained and nothing else when watching a movie. Who care's if it makes sense, right? (I laughed out loud a little at the mention of The Butterfly Effect when we asked this question) Also, it was like the screenwriter was his own deity, who could decide every aspect and detail of a film, and this was shown by Kaufman's seemingly self-absorbed narrative and the creative process he endured when considering the sequence of the film. Lastly, we see how people who couldn't make things in real life could write/imagine whatever they wanted to fulfill the characters in their stories even if they were unsatisfied with their "loser" lives, as Kaufman consistently called himself a rainbow of pathetic things while writing whatever he wanted.

Well, my group is about to start filming this week, and I'm nervous and excited to say the least. I just hope everything works out and the people we need are available. Either way, It's gonna be a wild ride.