Synecdoche, New York
SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK (15)
D: Charlie Kaufman
Sony Pictures Classics (Charlie Kaufman, Spike Jonze, Sidney
Kimmel & Anthony Bregman)
US 2008
123 mins
Comedy/Drama
W: Charlie Kaufman
DP: Frederick Elmes
Ed: Robert Frazen
Mus: Jon Brion
PD: Mark Freidberg
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Caden Cotard), Samantha Morton
(Hazel), Michelle Williams (Claire Keen), Catherine Keener (Adele Lack), Emily Watson (Tammy), Jennifer Jason Leigh (Maria), Dianne Wiest (Ellen Bascomb / Millicent Weems)
A
director plans to make a film based on his life, but the film becomes more and more ambitious as he gets older and older, turning the project into a task that is impossible to complete (quite
like this very website, ha ha).
It's pretty much what you'd expect from the mind of Charlie
Kaufman but it's nowhere near as funny, clever or original as Being John Malkovich, Adaptation or Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. In fact, it's clear that Kaufman was inspired heavily by
Woody Allen & Ingmar Bergman when he started painting this canvas. Philip Seymour Hoffman has the neurotic protagonist nailed and the supporting cast are fine, especially Samantha Morton
& Michelle Williams, but the narrative is far too confusing, almost to the point of frustration, but eventually the artistic poetry shines through if you're patient enough to sit through the
entire 2 hours.
It certainly wouldn't be everyones cup of tea, even ardent
fans of the director's earlier work might be frustrated by it and it isn't quite the Citizen Kane of mindfucks that it intends to be. A thinking man's satire or a pretentious ego project? You
decide.
7/10
