Charlie Kaufman is a confused L.A. screenwriter overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy, sexual frustration, self-loathing, and by the screenwriting ambitions of his freeloading twin brother Donald. While struggling to adapt "The Orchid Thief," by Susan Orlean, Kaufman's life spins from pathetic to bizarre. The lives of Kaufman and Orlean's book become strangely intertwined as each one's search for passion collides with the other's.
Acting
Nicolas Cage plays twins so distinct you'll forget it's one person.
Writing
Kaufman wrote himself as a pathetic loser and still won the Oscar.
Direction
Jonze makes neurosis cinematic without making it pretty.
Director
Spike Jonze
Nicolas Cage
Charlie Kaufman / Donald Kaufman
Meryl Streep
Susan Orlean
Chris Cooper
John Laroche
Tilda Swinton
Valerie Thomas
Jay Tavare
Matthew Osceola
Litefoot
Russell
Roger Willie
Randy
Jim Beaver
Ranger Tony
Cara Seymour
Amelia Kavan
Doug Jones
Augustus Margary
Gary Farmer
Buster Baxley
Peter Jason
Defense Attorney
Gregory Itzin
Prosecutor
Curtis Hanson
Orlean's Husband
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The real Susan Orlean was horrified by the script and tried to kill the film. She came around. Eventually.
The screenplay's credited co-writer Donald Kaufman is fictional—the only 'person' nominated for an Oscar who never existed.
US
