MovieChat Forums > Being John Malkovich (1999) Discussion > Craig trapped

Craig trapped

posted 15 years ago by gooshay
9 replies | jump to latest

From my memory it's never really explained as to why the individual who goes in the next generations portal will be trapped. Can anyone explain?

When you look away this signature is in spanish

[–] gooshay 15 years ago

BUMP BUMP BUMP

When you look away this signature is in spanish

[–] cleftheart101 15 years ago

I'm not sure but maybe it has something to do with age.

Dr. Lester explained that there is a certain age where Malkovich is "ripe", which would be the right time to enter his mind (through a portal). I'm assuming they are waiting for him to get "ripe" so they could control him, which they probably won't be able to if he wasn't as "ripe" yet. Craig could control Malkovich because he is a puppeeter and he could use his skills, but Lester and his group doesn't have that skill.

The little girl is still very young (and very far away from being "ripe"), so maybe it is harder to control (or impossible to control) someone very young? Maybe? Just a theory.

- - -
War does not determine who is right - only who is left.

[–] creaturefeeture 14 years ago

Yeah, Dr. Lester explains to Lotte that you can't enter a child/baby because they're so young that you can't control them or something like that and you'll be trapped forever as a viewer of another person's life. Right after Lotte and Maxine make up from their fight (in Malkovich's subconscious) and Craig releases Malkovich (to "save" Maxine) Craig tells Maxine he really loves her and bla blah. She tells him to get lost and runs away with Lotte. Craig says "I'll go back in to Malkovich so you'll love me again!" Meanwhile Dr. Lester and the old people are entering Malkovich (to gain immortality). The portal to Malkovich closes at midnight. Craig goes back to renter Malkovich to win back Maxine's affections but Dr. Lester has already taken Malkovich over and it's most likely past midnight so the portal changes from Malkovich to his daughter. So when Craig goes back to enter Malkovich he actually enters the daughter and as Dr. Lester warned entering that young = no control, ever.

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[–] virgiltx 14 years ago

warpaint:

trapped forever as a viewer of another person's life.

Here're a couple of questions:
1. How is he trapped "forever" in the child, unless she lives forever.

2. When she becomes "ripe", he still will have no control, and cannot leave either?

[–] amanjones 14 years ago

He will be trapped in Daughter forever because Lester, Sheen, Flores and Sheen's wife will possess Daughter when she becomes ripe and so on. Schwartz will be a viewer as long as Lester and co. continue to possess the next generation.

[–] virgiltx 14 years ago

But Craig has no way to get to the next vessel, after Emily passes away. Unless Emily lives forever, Craig will not live forever. When Emily dies, Craig should be dropped on the side of the New Jersey Turnpike.

[–] amanjones 14 years ago

That's the thing - Emily is the next vessel. Theoretically, Lester, Sheen, Flores and Sheen's wife will possess Emily when she ripens. After Emily grows older, Emily will possess the next vessel - thereby carrying Schwartz with them forever.

[–] virgiltx 14 years ago

amanjones:

"After Emily grows older, Emily will possess the next vessel - thereby carrying Schwartz with them forever."

OK, so in that sense his entrapment is extended ad infinitum, but that's assuming that a vessel always successfully enters the next vessel. If there's a failure to enter, as there almost was in Dr. Lester's case, Craig would be liberated.

He would either drop onto the NJ Turnpike, become non-existent, or die and go to whatever afterlife might actually exist for him, Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, Happy Hunting Ground, reincarnation, etc.

[–] shyshaishy 12 years ago

this makes me sad...