Review of Synecdoche, New York (2008) by Jordan W — 14 Oct 2011

Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut Synecdoche, New York is one of the most powerful and emotionally draining movies I have ever seen. I have not watched it a second time, but when I do, I have confidence that it will not only be an entirely new experience, but that it will be richer and even more enjoyable. Then I will watch it again. While it certainly holds up against his previous masterpieces, Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind and Adaptation, by putting himself in the director's chair, Kaufman has accomplished something profound: He has put his own vision to his writing.

The film is centered on a theatre director named Caden Cotard, played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who is in crisis with his life and his own purpose. Throughout the film, Cotard struggles with his job, the women in his life, including his wife Adele, played by Catherine Keener, and some incurable illnesses that seem to plague him. As he mopes about in his own suffering, he attempts to try to make sense of all of the things that surround him that he both covets and rejects.

In order to come to an understanding of his own presence and the presence of people in the world, and the way in which they all think and react in life, he decides to stage a grandiose theatre production, complete with a life-size replica of New York City, inside of a warehouse that seems to be however large Cotard needs it to be.

Synecdoche, New York is a heavy movie, but it deals with human insecurities and concerns that everyone has. Cotard is everyone. In theatre, everyone plays his or her part, and the show goes on. Life is the same. But what parts are we supposed to play? How do we play them?

Charlie Kaufman is one of the most important writers alive today. He has brought me to tears with this masterpiece. Looking forward to my first year of college, his work will certainly have influence on my writing and my thoughts and ideas about life.

On a side note, Jon Brion's score is one of the best I've ever heard, particularly the song "Little Person" which examines musically the themes of the film.