Charlie Kaufman has a big and very loyal fandom, and he won it with his sword (insert “the pen is mightier than the sword” saying). One thing that he is known to do, and does very well, isself-referencing and metafictionmovies, most of the time as the screenwriter but also as the director.
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Hisquirkiness and amazing understanding of the human souland everyday mannerisms of people, coupled with his massive talent to be both hilarious and poignant, have made Charlie Kaufman one of the most successful screenwriters of our time, and (thankfully), he doesn’t seem like he wants to stop creating anytime soon.
8Human Nature - 6.4/10
Human Natureis a 2001 film that runs for 1h and 36min and has received mixed reviews, weirdly enough, as most of the screenwriter’s movies are very successful. But, as it almost always happens, the film also has a lot of fans that love this movie more than any other.
A scientist finds love in a naturalist and excitement about his theories in a man that was raised as an ape. The problem is that the naturalist also finds love, and it is with the ape. They both want what’s best for him… or themselves, as the man transforms into a proper-ish member of society.
7I Am Thinking Of Ending Things - 6.6/10
Before Charlie Kaufman got his creative hands on it,I Am Thinking Of Ending Thingswas the debut but the very well-received novel of the author Ian Reid. Kaufman adapted the novel for the screen and directed it. It premiered in 2020 and runs for 2h and 14min.
A young woman and her boyfriend go to his parent’s farm, so she can meet them and spend some time together. Her inner monologue tells the viewer that she’s thinking of ending things with Jake, her boyfriend. They’ve been together for a short time, but it feels much longer. When they arrive at the farm, weird little things start to happen immediately. When they get trapped there because of a snowstorm, things start to get much weirder, to the point where the young woman starts to doubt everything she has ever known about everyone, including herself and the world she lives in.
6Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind - 7.0/10
Confessions Of A Dangerous Mindis a 2002 movie, and it is 1h and 53min long. George Clooney is the director, and the cast is truly a meeting of some of the most lovable and recognizable film stars, with Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Drew Barrymore, and Sam Rockwell.
Chuck Barris is one guy that seems to have it all: he is young, full of energy, and has a superb career already with an auspicious path ahead of him. What he doesn’t have (and doesn’t know that he needs) is to be lured into the life of a CIA agent. Now, he makes his shows a part of his life as a secret operative. All seems to go well… Until it doesn’t, and his television life, along with his CIA life, are both in danger of collapsing.
5Anomalisa - 7.2/10
Anomalisais anadult stop-motion filmthat premiered in 2015 and runs for 1h and 30min. As seems to happen with almost all of Kaufman’s work, this was also nominated for an Oscar and has gained incredible reviews from critics and simple viewers alike. Most of them praise how humane this movie is and how much it seems to get under one’s skin while also being super sweet, sad, and funny, all at the same time.
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Michael Stone is an author who specializes in writing business-related books. His life is a repetition of meaningless and mundane actions, and he himself doesn’t seem to mind it too much, or if he is, he doesn’t react to it. A business trip and a meeting with a stranger will start to make him look at life through a different prism and long for different experiences and ways to deal with everyday life.
4Synecdoche New York - 7.5/10
Fans of Charlie Kaufman like to think of this movie as “the one where he runs free,” meaning that because he was also the director, he had all the creative license he needed in order to make the movie as bizarre and meta as he wanted it.Synecdoche New Yorkpremiered in 2008 and runs for 2h and 4min. In the movie, there are a lot of stars, but the one shining brighter than the rest is the late Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Caden Cotard is a theater director with a big dream for his new play - and he has secured a grand to make his dream come true. Since he wants realism to be the main ingredient, he builds a small mockup of New York inside a huge warehouse and tells his actors to act like they would act outside the theater, in the actual New York. And he gets caught up in the act too – until it’s not an act anymore.
3Adaptation - 7.7/10
Adaptationwon 1 Oscar for Best Actor In A Supporting Role, which went to Chris Cooper and was nominated for 3 more, and one of those was for Charlie Kaufman. The movie premiered in 2002 and runs for 1h and 55min. For screenwriting enthusiasts in general, it has an amazing surprise: the writing guru Robert McKee has a small role in the film, talking about the art of writing. The cast has some amazing actors, including Tilda Swinton,Nicolas Cage, Chris Cooper, and Meryl Streep. Fun fact:it’s actually an adaptationof the bookThe Orchid Thief. It’s a metafiction lover’s dream!
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The screenwriter Charlie Kaufman must adapt a book about an exotic plant collector into the big screen, but he faces a lot of challenges while trying to write it. One of them is the constant annoyance with his twin brother who seems to be doing just fine as a screenwriter even though he really doesn’t know even the basics of how to write a film.
2Being John Malkovich - 7.8/10
Nominated for 3 Oscars, this 1999 movie really put Charlie Kaufman on the map of great and quirky screenwriters. It is as fun as it is bizarre and as touching as it is harsh. It runs for 1h and 53min and the stars areJohn Malkovich(yes, obviously!), John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and Katherine Kenner, among others. It is directed by Spike Jonze.
Craig is fascinated by his job as a puppeteer because it allows him to “be” someone else for a bit. His wife, Lotte, thinks that he needs a different job to make more money, so he takes a job as an office clerk in a weird building that has 7 and a half floors and is 5 feet tall. One day, as he moves one of the filing cabinets, he finds a portal that transfers him to the mind of the actor John Malkovich for a short time. He, his wife, and a co-worker will take advantage of this opportunity to make some much-needed money.
1Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind - 8.3/10
The movie premiered in 2004, and it is 1h and 48min ofintensity, chaos, love, and so much confusion. Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey give memorable performances in this superb film that was directed by Michel Gondry. As Kaufman said in an interview, he wanted a different ending, but Gondry insisted on this one. Kaufman won an Oscar for this screenplay, so Gondry probably had the right idea about the end!
Joel and Clementine live in a world where you can erase painful memories from your mind with a medical procedure. Both undergo the surgery, but the results are not what they expect… Or want.
