Synecdoche, New York
Maverick screenwriter Charlie Kaufman makes his directorial debut with this ambitious story of a man's struggle to comprehend his own existence.
Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Caden, a troubled theatre director who creates an alternative New York inside a warehouse, then finds out that his autonomic functions are failing one-by-one (his body loses the ability to react to threats). Also features a stacked female ensemble including Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams. Samantha Morton and Jennifer Jason Leigh as the various women in his rapidly imploding life.
FYI, 'Synecdoche' is defined as "a figure of speech in which a term denoting a part of something is used to refer to the whole thing, or a whole thing is used to refer to a part of it" . For example, one might say "I have a new set of wheels", meaning "I have a new car". Or, "use your head", meaning "use your brain". It's pronounced sih-neck-doh-kee.
- Director:
- Charlie Kaufman (directorial debut)
- Writer:
- Charlie Kaufman
- Cast:
- Philip Seymour HoffmanSamantha MortonMichelle WilliamsCatherine KeenerEmily WatsonDianne WiestJennifer Jason LeighHope Davis
Reviews & comments
Synecdoche, New York
Hyped for Anomalisa, I decided to watch Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut, Synecdoche, New York. Roger Ebert named it the best film of the 2000s. This is a strange, wholly original film, about a lonely theatre director struggling with his work, and the relationships with the women in his life. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is amazing. Being a Kaufman film, it's...
A play within a play
What this film really needs is a follow up film to describe this one as words simply will not suffice. In saying that the film is wildly ambitious, sprawling, awe-inspiring, heartbreaking, frustrating, hard-to-follow and achingly, achingly sad. Some may comment on the running time but those who are truly passionate about cinema will not be worried about...
A boring, ego project
Vanity and ego should plague the genius behind Eternal Sunshine of teh Spotless Mind and clearly it has taken over. I sat through this torturous butt and mind numbing 2 hours and 4 minutes in Austin Texas and then listened to an audience ask the great man questions. When he was kind of asked why. he kind of had no answer. If your butt comfort needs testing...
Variety
pressA wildly ambitious and gravely serious contemplation of life, love, art, human decay and death, the film bears Kaufman’s scripting fingerprints in its structural trickery and multiplane storytelling.
Time Magazine
pressNo film with an ambition this large, and achievement this impressive, can be anything but exhilarating, a vital affirmation of the creative process.
The New York Times
pressTo say that Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York is one of the best films of the year or even one closest to my heart is such a pathetic response to its soaring ambition that I might as well pack it in right now.
Rolling Stone
pressPhilip Seymour Hoffman creates a mesmerizing portrait of the artist as a young, old and middle-aged man.
Premiere Magazine
pressAt turns as neurotic and nebbishy as any Woody Allen flick, as creepy and disorienting as your favorite "Twilight Zone" episode, and as steeped in magical realism as the most moving Márquez novel, Synecdoche may not be the feel-good date movie of the year. But for viewers up for the challenge, it may be the film most likely to stick with you.
Hollywood Reporter
pressWill mesmerize some and mystify others, while many will be bored silly. It's not a dream, Kaufman says, but it has a dreamlike quality, and those won over by its otherworldly jigsaw puzzle of duplicated characters, multiple environments and shifting time frames will dissect it endlessly.
Film Threat
pressIt is a sprawling, ambitious and very long look at so many things, it's almost a miracle he was able to wrap it up in just two hours. And yet, for a film that is principally about death, the conclusion is surprisingly life-affirming, especially coming from Kaufman.
Variety
pressA wildly ambitious and gravely serious contemplation of life, love, art, human decay and death, the film bears Kaufman’s scripting fingerprints in its structural trickery and multiplane storytelling.
Time Magazine
pressNo film with an ambition this large, and achievement this impressive, can be anything but exhilarating, a vital affirmation of the creative process.
The New York Times
pressTo say that Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York is one of the best films of the year or even one closest to my heart is such a pathetic response to its soaring ambition that I might as well pack it in right now.
Rolling Stone
pressPhilip Seymour Hoffman creates a mesmerizing portrait of the artist as a young, old and middle-aged man.
Premiere Magazine
pressAt turns as neurotic and nebbishy as any Woody Allen flick, as creepy and disorienting as your favorite "Twilight Zone" episode, and as steeped in magical realism as the most moving Márquez novel, Synecdoche may not be the feel-good date movie of the year. But for viewers up for the challenge, it may be the film most likely to stick with you.
Hollywood Reporter
pressWill mesmerize some and mystify others, while many will be bored silly. It's not a dream, Kaufman says, but it has a dreamlike quality, and those won over by its otherworldly jigsaw puzzle of duplicated characters, multiple environments and shifting time frames will dissect it endlessly.
Film Threat
pressIt is a sprawling, ambitious and very long look at so many things, it's almost a miracle he was able to wrap it up in just two hours. And yet, for a film that is principally about death, the conclusion is surprisingly life-affirming, especially coming from Kaufman.
Synecdoche, New York
Hyped for Anomalisa, I decided to watch Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut, Synecdoche, New York. Roger Ebert named it the best film of the 2000s. This is a strange, wholly original film, about a lonely theatre director struggling with his work, and the relationships with the women in his life. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is amazing. Being a Kaufman film,...
A play within a play
What this film really needs is a follow up film to describe this one as words simply will not suffice. In saying that the film is wildly ambitious, sprawling, awe-inspiring, heartbreaking, frustrating, hard-to-follow and achingly, achingly sad. Some may comment on the running time but those who are truly passionate about cinema will not be worried about...
A boring, ego project
Vanity and ego should plague the genius behind Eternal Sunshine of teh Spotless Mind and clearly it has taken over. I sat through this torturous butt and mind numbing 2 hours and 4 minutes in Austin Texas and then listened to an audience ask the great man questions. When he was kind of asked why. he kind of had no answer. If your butt comfort needs...
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