The Reviewer Visits "Synecdoche, New York"

I just finally got around to seeing Synecdoche, New York and like the complexity of the film, I am filled with a myriad of emotions and ways to express myself which include; beautiful, poignant, boring at times, self indulgent, philosophical, touching, comedic, tragic and lastly sorrow. Not unlike life itself which is the heart of the story.
This is the directorial debut of the famed eccentric writer Charlie Kaufman (of Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine...and Adaptation fame). He also wrote this vastly complex character drama of the life of a theater director Caden Cortard, (Philip Seymour Hoffman in another amazing performance) living and working in Schenectady, NY, who at the age of 40 is married with a child, his wife leaves him, taking his only child and with this, he is given the opportunity to create a work of art, which he takes on with full force and it becomes the all consuming piece of his life, which in turn becomes a reflection of his actual life. The film becomes a film, within a film, within a film and becomes even more convoluted and complex as it evolves. I do not want to expound more upon that any further, as it is a piece that needs to be experienced.

The incredible ensemble cast also features, Samantha Morton, Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Tom Noonan, Emily Watson, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Dianne Wiest. No part is thrown away, every performance is visceral and truthful and I really got a sense that everyone knew how they felt about their particular characters and what that meant to them. All in all there are over 80 speaking roles.

As with other Kaufman works, the hero is a sullen, depressive who cannot seem to enjoy himself and he gets in his own way. His characters remind me of Woody Allen's characters, just without the laughs. However, there is a very tragicomic scene between Caden and his daughter, that is hysterical in all the wrong ways. It was brilliantly written. The character of Caden is a mess, who throughout the film thinks he is dying as he juggles his life, work and the many women who he loves. We are shown 50 years of his life and the way Kaufman goes through his 50 years, time is fluid and if you are not careful, you will miss many clues. I know I did and will have to see it a again to catch them all. And like many of Kaufman's stories, I found myself getting frustrated as it was moving along, yet as it neared its completion I recognized the genius and can only doff my cap to another profound and highly inventive story by one of the finest in the business today. Indeed Shakespeare was right when he said "All the world's a stage and we are merely players." Charlie Kaufman deftly shows us why.

I give Synecdoche, New York 3.5 out of 5 stars and it is currently available on blu-ray and dvd.