Few actors have a grasp on villainy as well asBrian Cox. Cox can certainly show a softer side to himself, but he’s best known for his performances as some of the greatest screen villains in recent memory. The character ofLogan Roy onSuccessionembodies everything wrong with the privileged, intolerant media tycoons that have so much impact on the market, and William Stryker inX2was one of the more personal villains that Wolverine ever went up against.Sir Anthony Hopkins’ performance may have been iconic, but it was Cox who first portrayed the iconic serial killerDr. Hannibal Lecter inManhunter. While these roles first come to mind when thinking about Cox’s filmography, he showed a much different type of antagonistic role inAdaptation.
Adaptationis perhaps the weirdest creation ofCharlie Kaufman’s career, which considering his track record is fairly extraordinary. The fourth-wall-breaking film starsNicolas Cageas both Charlie Kaufman and his fictional brother Donald, who amusingly is listed as the film’s co-writer. Charlie is searching for inspiration and meaning within his work, but he struggles to adapt the seemingly “unfilmable” novelThe Orchid Thiefby Susan Orlean (Meryl Streep). to seek guidance, Charlie attends seminars hosted by the veteran screenwriting instructor Robert McKee (Cox), whose lessons only confuse and torment him even further.
McKee attempts to summarize the writing process into a formula with blatant rules and standards; it’s a strangely scientific approach to the craft that should ideally be a personal one. Kaufman may think that he’ssuffering from writer’s block, but in reality, he’s overworked, cynical, and self-obsessed. Cox shows how seeking wisdom from those who pretend that there is a “solution” to the natural creative process is only bound to make writers feel worse. Any writer knows how demeaning it can feel to not live up to a standard, and Cox’s version of McKee has a vision of the perfect writer that Kaufman can never live up to. It’s a subtly menacing role that may not be as obviously dominant as Logan Roy, but equally hurtful.
Cox Shows the Emptiness of “Success”
While McKee is a real screenwriting expert who is well-respected for teaching many influential filmmakers, it’s evident that the version of him that we’re seeing inAdaptationisn’t intended to be an exact replication. It’s very much Kaufman’s version of reality, and Cox shows an exaggerated side to the role that suggests that Charlie has unconsciously reworked some events in his memory. Cox’s comments seem to be personally targeted at Charlie; his observations about traditional story structure and realism are totally different from what Charlie is trying to do withThe Orchid Thief.
McKee’s presence ends up creating more tension between Charlie and Donald. It’s vaguely suggested that Donald is simply an extension of Charlie’s subconscious that represents his worst impulses, or at least a completely different type of writer who opts for the easy way out. While Charlie seeks a higher form of artistic achievement, Donald is encouraged by the hack clichés and truisms that McKee preaches. Cox has the authority to make his rules sound definitive, and Donald follows them exactly in his spec script for the generic psychological thrillerThe 3.
Donald’s success only makes Charlie feel more depressed, and gives him a false idea of what “success” really means in his mind. Cox’s McKee doesn’t spell out what a screenwriter’s goals should be, but based on his track record it’s assumed that his only intention is to make a profit. This leads Donald to go behind Charlie’s back and sellThe 3for six or seven figures. Charlie can’t even find a way to start his story, but Donald has seemingly found a pathway to success overnight. Was this Kaufman and directorSpike Jonzeexpressing their own artistic creations?
McKee Discourages Charlie’s Work
Charlie had only sought out McKee in the first place out of desperation. He’s hopelessly awkward and self-conscious, and the very prospect of having a conversation with someone that is highly respected makes his anxiety even worse. In a brief conversation, Cox shows McKee’s flat denial of Charlie’s approach. Charlie had intended to go to Florida to meet John Laroche (Chris Cooper), the real protagonist ofThe Orchid Thief. McKee scoffs at this, claiming that Charlie’s writer’s block is due to his own incompetence. “If you’re able to’t find that stuff in life, then you, my friend, don’t know crap about life,” he screams. “Why are you wasting my two precious hours with your movie?”
There’s a hint that McKee’s words continue to haunt Charlie, just as they may have affected the real Kaufman.Adaptationitself seems to contradict all the rules that McKee insists on. He tells writers to avoidDeus ex machinalike the plague, proclaiming that “any idiot can write a voice-over narration to explain the thoughts of a character.” However, Charlie survives his encounter with Laroche in Florida through Donald’s seemingly miraculous appearance to take the bullet for him. McKee insults the concept of voice-over as a narrative device, yet the film concludes when Charlie summarizes his experiences. He even acknowledges that he has broken the “cardinal rule” of McKee’s seminars, exclaiming, “How else can I show his thoughts? I don’t know. Who cares what McKee says? It feels right.”
In real life, McKee is known for his hatred of the “auteur theory,” as he believes that it’s the writer, and not the director who is responsible for a film’s success. There aren’t many modern screenwriters who are as famous as Kaufman, so perhaps he feels the same way about their superiority compared to directors. Interestingly, the real McKee is notentirely objected to using voice-over; he believes that appropriate use of voice-over (particularly as a way to end a story) can be successful.
However, it’s evident that a part of Charlie still respects the real McKee, suggesting once again that Cox is simply an amalgamation of the various professors, tutors, and instructors that he’s sparred with in his career. Cox embodies a personal anxiety within Kaufman’s mind, and handles this responsibility with his signature menace.
