Ryan McNeil
Remember the idea of a Floor Seven-and-A-Half in BEING JOHN MALKOVICH? How about ADAPTATION, where the struggling screenwriter to works himself into his own screenplay? Or Lacuna Inc, the company that will erase painful memories of loved ones in ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND?
All of that my friends was Charlie Kaufman 101. SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK on the other hand is a Kaufman master’s class.
say it with me now: sin-ECK-da-KEY. Now buckle up, because the plot is a doozy. Our hero is theatre director Caden Cotard (Phil Seymour Hoffman). Hoffman works at a small regional theatre, and makes a modest living, even though his plays don’t exactly get the critics buzzing. His wife Adele (Catherine Keener), is an artist – one who spends her time creating oil paintings the size of postage stamps. One fateful morning, Caden has an accident in the bathroom that sends him to the doctor. The hospital doesn’t get specific, but tells him “There’s a lot wrong with you”. Thorugh the course of our story Caden will suffer through a neverending series of amazingly odd handicaps.
Days after Caden gets news he’s received the MacArthur Genius Grant, Adele hits him with the news that she and their daughter Olive are going to Berlin where Adele can focus on her painting. Despondent, Caden visits a therapist named Madeline. She doesn’t really help him through his problems, but she’s amazingly good at plugging her best-selling book.
Looking for an avenue to channel his grief, Caden dives into work and begins production on his new play. The show is an experimental piece, one that doesn’t seem to have actual lines or scenes, just actors upon actors dealing with motivations Caden gives them (“You were raped today. Go!”). The production exponentially grows, eventually finding a home in a waterside warehouse. Here, every detail of the production’s daily life is duplicated – there are stage hands building the set, and there are also actors cast to play the parts of the stage hands building the set. Basically, the whole show becomes one big Russian Matryoshka doll. Years pass, relationships come and go, the money of this grant never seems to dry up, but work on this ever-expanding production continues…and continues…and continues.
Still with me? That explanation might seem absurd, but quite honestly I don’t think I could do the absurdity of this movie justice in a few hundred words. The film is the first feature that writer Charlie Kaufman has directed, and part of me thinks that happened just because there wasn’t a director out there who “got it”. It’s a movie about the joy of artistic creation, and the frustrations of an everyday life. It’s imaginative, funny, and really really weird.
For example, Caden’s secretary Hazal (The truly charming Samantha Morton) who buys herself a house that is continually partially on fire. At the premiere of the film, Charlie Kaufman was asked if he could provide a bit of insight into this little quirk. A wry smile stretched across his face as he considered the answer, just before he gave a polite and decisive “No”. In Kaufman’s movies, such oddities don’t require explanation. They are there to be remembered – not to be understood.
I need to be perfectly clear about something – this movie is not for everybody. It might feel long, it might feel like it isn’t “about” anything. And it’s amazingly strange – I can’t stress that enough. Even I needed to let the movie soak in for a day or two before I was sure what I felt about it! So if you aren’t up for a challenging, twisted film, give this one a skip. Believe me, I wouldn’t think any less of you. But if you’re in the mood for something truly original, then buy yourself a ticket for SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK and prepare to be dazzled.
Just this morning, I wrote about a film that seemed stale and silly. SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK as a film, and Charlie Kaufman as a writer, are the complete antithesis to that. He is the sort of talent that Hollywood needs more of. His brain takes the colours that usually dry and harden into the palette, and uses them in ways nobody else could think of. In so doing, Kaufman creates works that are sweet, unique, and absolutely unforgettable.
I quite liked this review. It evokes a mood of mildly exasperated wonder which is probably the best prism through which to see this film. I left the first screening with a strange "high" feeling that I hadn't felt in years coming out of a movie theater – the warm glow of art leaving me strangely provoked, compelled, and tickled by the movie.
You do not attempt to explain anything in the movie, of course, which makes me all the more interested to hear your thoughts over on my blog. Have the proceeding months introduced any new ideas or interpretations into your head? Would you have wanted them to? What did you think of my own impressions. I eagerly await your response at The Dancing Image…
@ MovieMan… Funny that you mention that I don't try to explain the film. I always get a smile when I see that someone has been led to my blog by typing "Synecdoche, New York Explanation" into Google. Looks like I wasn't the only one who didn't get it.
I'll never forget the credits rolling on that screening, and a friend leaning over to ask what I thought. The only answer I could give was "…I…don't…know."
Since then, I've compared it to a song whose words don't make sense. It isn't one of the best movies I've ever seen, but certainly one of the most unforgettable.
I thought I should just comment… if you're someone who has a positive outlook on life – do not watch this depressing movie. The one word I would choose for it would have to be FRUSTRATING. You sit there for this 2 hour long feature film trying to figure out the point of it, going in and out of understanding little things and by the end you are absolutely exhausted feeling like crap. This is a movie for people who want to become depressed and "think too much" – because afterall there does seem to be a real link in life between intelligence and depression.
@ Anon… I myself have an almost obscenely positive outlook on life, and I loved this movie.
To this day, I compare it to a memorable song where the lyrics make no sense. That can indeed be frustrating, but sometimes one wants a film to challenge them, no?
I don't know if I can agree that there is a direct link between intelligence and depression. And while I will agree that there are many films out there that are a GUARENTEED bummer (REQUIEM FOR A DREAM for example), I can't say that the absurdity of this movie qualifies it as an absolute downer.
Sorry to hear that it wasn't your cup of tea, but like I said at the end of my review – it ain't for everyone.
That said, thanks for reading my humble blog. Please come back soon!
Hazel was attracted to Cotard that is why she was made to buy a house that was on fire,
Only a mad person buys a house that is on fire, mad as in psychotic, you know not engaged with reality.
Maybe any of us or all of us is Cotard.
Hazel seems to be innately happy, so sweet.
With Cotard I can almost smell the putrefaction.