Review of Synecdoche, New York (2008) by Antony D — 07 Dec 2010
The pretentiousness of the worst kind of spacey, ponderous theater comes crashing against the most indulgent possibilities of cinema in Charlie Kaufman's thick and depressing sketches on the hopelessness of human life.
I found virtually nothing of value in the film outside its incredibly good cast; the real tragedy here is that they couldn't have found a more worthwhile film to join together in. Hoffman is the cream of the crop; his barbarically human outbursts of raw emotion nearly become endearing, and for the first twenty minutes of the film he even makes the humor of the script work well.
However, as soon as the power of the film is lifted from the responsibility of the actors and placed on the shoulders of Kaufman's frustratingly vague screenplay the whole thing collapses under the weight of its own ideas- rough sketches of angsty thoughts.
By the time the film reaches its conclusion it becomes entirely a visual rendition of Kaufman's babyish theatrical moaning.
This review of Synecdoche, New York (2008) was written by Antony D on 07 Dec 2010.
Synecdoche, New York has generally received positive reviews.
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