Review of Synecdoche, New York (2008) by Bds92 — 12 Sep 2015

If you don't understand this movie, that's because you're not feeling about it in addition to thinking about it. If you're only thinking about it, it will drive you out of your mind. If you can feel what Caden what feels, what Hazel feels, what Adele feels, what Sammy feels and even what Ellen Bascomb feels, you can at least understand that this film is emotionally gut-wrenching. On a basic level, this film is a heartbreaking film about loss, solitude, the search for meaning, and a world we're hard pressed to endure.

It's easily the most emotional film I've ever seen, but what makes it stand out is the sheer breadth of implications Kaufman is able to employ. With a film like Adaptation, the plot didn't stand out at all. (Spoiler for Adaptation, if you haven't seen it.) You were peripherally aware of LaRoche, Orlean, and any other character that wasn't Charlie or Donald Kaufman. Each storyline was just a compliment to Charlie Kaufman's corrosive writing process.

This film is much more ambitious, yet the plot is central to its great theory. The love between Caden and Hazel is an unrequited love that takes them half a century to believe fully. Sammy's plight is a miniature version of Caden's, yet we all know what it's like to be Sammy in this world. Each character or plotline is clearly explained, precisely communicated, and essential to the grand message, yet are all just representations of the tenets of the great struggle called human life.

Each and every reference in the movie is intentional and profound. Certain seconds of time in this film could be films on their own. You're aware of what most of them mean on their own, but as the film unravels and the plot becomes more and more complex, every viewer will struggle to understand the big picture. That's because the big thematic picture in this film is the meaning of life itself. Since we don't know what the meaning of life is, or why we suffer so dramatically in our minds, we'll never feel safe in this film. It grows as we do, in our own lives.

The only frustrating aspects of this film are that it's too intentional, it's too secretive, and it's too dense. If you rely solely on the plot, you will lose your sense of this film. Whereas with a Michael Douglas drama or a Robin Williams or Tom Hanks classic you are locked into the characters and the plot, with this film, you're locked into how some part of it could be your life. You have to believe that this film is more than the sum of its parts, and you have to be receptive to a movie that should've been a book first. This is a movie for English class, not commercial ciinemas. It's a great American drama. For me, it's easily the best film of the 21st century. The most surprising thing about it, to me, is that it makes sense to Kaufman. He was able to write this play and direct it, with at least some idea of what everything in the film means. That is mindboggling. I don't know how one is able to process the intention of every detail of a film encompassing the reason we go from day to day when we feel we can't do this anymore. Somehow, Kaufman was able to piece it together.

If you find yourself lost and confused after a half hour, don't worry. I was maddeningly surprised because I realized I was no longer watching the film I thought I was watching. It intrigued me, and I wanted to continue. If you only feel a sense of disillusionment and frustration after a half hour of this film, put it away. Chalk it up as a waste of time and money. This is a cerebral film with a strong plot it doesn't need. Either you start to get it after a half hour, or you probably never will. Either you've felt pain in life, the kind of pain that makes you wonder what we're doing here, or you shouldn't watch this film. Much like Federico Fellini's 8 1/2, the experience is in the details. If that sounds like your cup of tea, this film will rock you world and leave you reeling for a decade.