Precis: A Vacation From Myself

The theme of escapism in Being John Malkovich is very dominant. What pulls the film together is the way in which the average joe feels the need to escape from their everyday and mundane lives. The fact that Charlie Kaufman choose Malkovich to be the vehicle in which people could escape, plays up the idea of escaping for escaping sake. It would be a totally different film if Kaufman had chosen a celebrity such as Tom Cruise. There would be more justification for people wanting to be in a more glamorous world. Kaufman writes scenes to show just how menial Malkovich’s life can be: eating toast, the cab driver misrecognizing him. Craig's wife becomes Malkovich not for his fame, but for his penis. We always want to be that which we cannot.