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Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener, Emily Watson ... see more see more... , Dianne Wiest , Jennifer Jason Leigh , Hope Davis , Tom Noonan , Sadie Goldstein , Robin Weigert , Daniel London , Robert Seay , Stephen Adly Guirgis , Frank Girardeau , Paul Sparks , Jerry Adler , Lynn Cohen , Peter Friedman , Charles Techman , Josh Pais , Amy Wright , Deirdre O'Connell , Kat Peters , John Rothman , Michael Higgins

Synecdoche, New York marked the directorial debut of iconoclastic, cerebral screenwriter Charlie Kaufman. Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as Caden Cotard, an eccentric playwright who lives with artist Ad... read more read more...ele Lack (Catherine Keener) and their daughter Olive in Schenectady, upstate New York. Prone to neuroses, misgivings and enormous self-doubt, Caden also begins suffering from accelerated physical deterioration - from blood in his stools to disfigured skin. Upon receiving a prestigious MacArthur grant, Caden decides to use the money to concoct one gigantic play as an analogue of his own life; he builds massive sets amid a New York City warehouse, casts others as his friends, family and acquaintances, and casts others to play the ones he's casting. After Adele whisks Olive off to Europe but demonstrates no sign of returning soon, Caden drifts into a series of relationships with lovers - first with box office employee Hazel (Samantha Morton), who purchases and moves into a house that is perpetually on fire; then with Tammy (Emily Watson), an actress assigned to play Hazel in the theatrical project; and subsequently with others. Unfortunately, the play itself grows so big and unwieldy - and rehearsals go on for so long, taking literally decades - that it becomes unclear if the production itself will ever launch. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

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R, 2 hr. 4 min.

Directed by: Charlie Kaufman

Release Date: October 24, 2008

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DVD Release Date: March 31, 2009

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Flixster Reviews (4,039)

  • paulkoh110
    February 4, 2012
    paulkoh110
    You can tell that this film was meticulously drawn out but the final work is hard to comprehend. The film is existential to the max and only lets true scholars understand its true meaning which may make some bitter after watching such a film.
  • gokhale1
    October 25, 2011
    gokhale1
    Charlie Kaufman, the man behind such interesting screenplays like "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "Being John Malkovich" tries his hand at directing one such outlandish script of his own, "Synecdoche, New York" (A play of words on "Schenectady, New York", and the conc... read moreept of "synecdoche" itself!)


    Plot:

    Beginning on a rather mundane note, the film introduces us to theater director, Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman), his wife - a budding artist Adele (Catherine Keener) and his daughter Olive. Caden and Adele's marriage is on the rocks. While Adele isn't happy with Caden, Caden clearly is still attached to Adele and Olive. Caden's new play meets with a lot of success and critical acclaim. Soon after, Adele takes off to Berlin to pursue her art further, with her daughter Olive, promising to return about a month later. In the midst of all this, we are also introduced a perpetually stoned Maria (Jennifer Jason Leigh), Claire, the actress (Michelle Williams) and the comely box office girl at the theater, Hazel (Samantha Morton) who has the hots for Caden. We gradually learn that Caden suffers from a variety of physical ailments including some unexplained skin lesions and a nervous disorder suppressing his autonomous functions.

    [img]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-MO27SKwaA0U/TqBO91feCAI/AAAAAAAACCE/fokUrJZdpYo/s672/vlcsnap-2011-10-20-20h33m19s154.jpg[/img]

    The Charlie Kaufman angle to the story begins one day when Caden receives a MacArthur Fellowship that bestows upon him financial means to pursue his artistic interests. Determined to give the aid its worth, Caden begins working on his masterpiece, a larger than life stage play that would be unparalleled and honest, more close to real life than anything else. As the play and its characters begin to take shape, the lines between reality and the play script begin to blur and Caden loses all sense of time and place and so does the audience......



    Themes/motifs:

    There are various themes explored in "Synecdoche, New York". There is a constant sense of death, decay and sickness going on right from the beginning. The TV screen shows an animation of a virus, the magazine Caden receives in his mailbox has a cover page speaking about disease and cure, the milk in the fridge seems to have got spoilt, and so on. Olive seems to think something is wrong with her 'cause her stools are green! Caden keeps reiterating too, that he "doesn't feel well". There are numerous visits to doctors, a particularly scary seizure that Caden experiences (one of the finest pieces of acting I've ever seen...Hoffman is more than convincing!). With physical decay there is also a decay of moral values, of relationships.....like failed marriages, extramarital stints, eventual guilt and an innocent little girl being exposed to the risqué business at an early age with her body being tattooed at the age of 10...!


    There is a constant feeling of loneliness and longing throughout, as the protagonist experiences it. Then there is the delusion, particularly the "Cotard Delusion" (perhaps, hence the name "Caden Cotard" for the main character?) .

    Several other motifs abound, like the "scale" with which both artists work. While Adele makes "miniature" paintings and the size of her paintings diminishes as time and the film itself progresses, Caden's work becomes larger and larger in the form of the life-size replica of New York in a warehouse! It also reflects the theme concerning bridging the gap between dream and reality, as Caden's dream begins to take shape in reality...or does it? The theme of "play within play...within play...." Is stressed upon throughout, as lookalikes brought in to play real life characters, end up having more lookalikes to play the lookalikes! Just like Sammy (Tom Noonan) is brought in to play Caden, and another person is brought in to play Sammy. It is all an endless cycle....a never-ending quest for something (perhaps an exercise in self-realization for all those involved) that seems to reach no conclusion. The stage production goes on for a whopping 17 years when one of the crew members points it out to Caden. It is only then that we, the audience, realize that so much time has indeed passed!


    [img]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-YH4cp0wbD-o/TqBO96qCmeI/AAAAAAAACCI/Bs0-LaWfl7A/s672/vlcsnap-2011-10-20-20h34m21s9.jpg[/img]

    Review:

    Kaufman tries to do justice to his highly surreal story but does he succeed? Well, almost! It should be noted that there is a strong resemblance to Federico Fellini's masterpiece "8 1/2" as far as the main theme is concerned. Just as Guido in that film tries to build an ambitious film project brutally honest and closer to life from his own personal experiences, Caden embarks on a similar mission. The difference being, Guido suffered from a Director's block, Caden didn't! Parallels can also be drawn to David Lynch's "Inland Empire" as far as the "play within a play" motif is concerned ("Film within film" in case of Lynch's film).


    "Synecdoche, New York" is all well-intentioned...there are quite a few terrific scenes embedded in the script. There is a sense of despair and sorrow throughout that works in the film's favour. Kaufman really got himself involved in this project and it shows. Only there is such a thing as being too involved! It almost seems that just like his lead character Caden, Kaufman got too engrossed in making his dream project that is this film and got lost somewhere in the maze of delusion himself, so what could one say about us audiences! While the film maintains considerable coherence for almost the first 80 minutes, it seems to spiral out of control after that. Lynch's "Inland Empire" suffered from a similar syndrome but Lynch, being Lynch, managed to make up for the muddled script with enthralling imagery and intriguing surprises along the way! Alas, not everyone is David Lynch and hence, making a surreal film isn't everyone's forte. Kaufman tries very hard, makes a strong attempt and almost gets close to making a winner, but falls a tad short, nonetheless!

    [img]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-vIk2t6Vk7JA/TqBUeov6KDI/AAAAAAAACCc/OaXN7xXj96g/s672/vlcsnap-2011-10-20-22h33m15s118.jpg[/img]

    That doesn't take away Kaufman's credibility though, and praise must be showered where it is due. Some of the themes/episodes in "Synecdoche, New York" ooze brilliance and are quite unique. Like the house that is eternally on fire, is one awesomely bizarre idea! And for some strange reason that particular part reminded me of the Coen Brothers' underrated flick, "Barton Fink"! Kaufman directs really well, until the last few minutes when he struggles to maintain the tautness in the script 'til he finally takes to the film's bleak conclusion. The editing by Robert Frazen is commendable. Chronologies are shuffled but the timeline is lucid enough to comprehend.


    The performances are spectacular. Philip Seymour Hoffman deserves a standing ovation for his magnificent performance. Only one wishes he didn't mumble his lines as much in some of his scenes! Amongst the ladies, it is Catherine Keener and Samantha Morton that emerge clear winners. Robin Weigert and Jennifer Jason Leigh impress in their respective miniscule roles but don't get much to do, unfortunately.


    Charlie Kaufman's efforts are noteworthy and "Synecdoche, New York" is not a film that should be ignored. Yes, it is self-indulgent... yes, it is somewhat incoherent. But that said, yes, it is also essential viewing. Give this film a chance; it is worth your time, simply because it isn't something you get to see every day. Oh...and regardless of the comparisons, don't go in expecting another "8 1/2"!


    7.5/10
  • TomBowler
    June 1, 2011
    TomBowler
    Now watch as Charlie Kaufman disappears up his own arse! With style. Full review later.
  • fb619846742
    August 20, 2010
    fb619846742
    A daring, inventive, polarizing motion picture that falters at times but still succeeds due to its final scene's emotional power and the strength of its lead performer, Philip Seymour Hoffman. Like many of Kaufman's stories, it's very strange and there's no way you'll totally "ge... read moret" everything. Although this film drops off from time to time and threatens to get too self-congratulatory with its massive scope, it is undoubtedly an unforgettable, surreal story that is effectively captured if beautifully flawed (it doesn't quite replicate the emotional impact it strikes at its grim conclusion throughout the whole story, something I think Kaufman was aiming for). It's definitely one of those movies I'll want to revisit in a couple years or so just to see if I can understand a little bit more of it.
  • SirPant
    June 2, 2010
    SirPant
    Maybe the word masterpiece is overused these days but for this film, it's for lack of a better word. I regard Kaufman as prolific a writer as William S. Burroughs, Anthony Burgess and even George Orwell if a funny kind of way but now he's a film director too, and I can only say a... read morebout bloody time! He's obviously got the talent, this has got to be one of the best and most surprising debuts since Charles Laughton's Night of the Hunter, a classic that only became so, long after it's release, something I suspect may happen here (did anyone actually see The Shawshank Redemption at the cinema?). I digress, Synecdoche, New York is a wonderful paranoid-life-journey-extravaganza of fear, angst, regret and despair (with a little bit of ambition in there for good measure). All the interesting aspects of life basically. Anyone can put a cute little rabbit in a film and make everyone happy, and if that's your cup of tea, then there is plenty out there to go round. Why do people regard this film as pretentious? Just put your hands up and say you don't understand it, there's nothing pretentious about that. It's so cram packed with symbolism it's impossible to catch everything in just one watch, I personally am looking forward to seeing it again, more than once even! When cinema is this good it deserves a second look. I can only compare it to being like a cross between Eraserhead (paranoia) and Fellini's 8 1/2 but directed by the son of Ingmar Bergman & Jean Renoir (with Luis Buñuel) and that only begins to describe it. Philip Seymour Hoffman is one of the most talented actors working today and in my opinion, and Kaufman has cast the best female line-up ever in one film. Samantha Morton, Catherine Keener, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michelle Williams and Emily Watson are my favourite actresses and all of them give great performances. This film has jumped straight to the top of my favourite films list, it's probably now in my top 10 of all time! I can't recommend it enough.
  • kiriyamakazou
    March 20, 2010
    kiriyamakazou
    Kaufman has always split me down the middle. He's a wonderful writer at times, but sometimes his vision hasn't had the best representation (I found Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind incredibly overrated). Due to the very mixed reviews, I was able to approach this film with no... read more idea of what to expect. At times confusing, at times obvious, but always interesting Synecdoche, New York, is one of the most honest depictions of life put to film. Kaufman handles the complex narrative structure very well. There are some fantastic scenes, where we see a play within a play, and that play reflects more of real life than life itself. Hoffman learns to look at himself but also those around him. Hoffman tries to recreate his own life, but it becomes a never ending process. Perhaps one of the (minor) failures of the film itself. I found this to be touching and truthful, but it certainly isn't going to find universal acclaim.
  • danperry17
    January 18, 2010
    danperry17
    Synecdoche, New York is a frustrating film. Stepping into the ring with Charlie Kaufman, I suppose that's what I should have expected, but the devices and the tricks overshadow the plot to the point where it's almost unwatchable. The acting in this film is very good - Michelle Wi... read morelliams has come so far from Dawson's Creek, her supporting role shines - but it's not enough to save the wandering story as it goes through the various smokescreens Kaufman sets up.

    Not nearly as approachable as Being John Malkovich or Adaptation, and that is to its detriment: when you're going to tell a slice-of-life story, there has to be some redemption somewhere, if not for the characters then at the very least, for the viewer, so that s/he doesn't feel like an idiot for sitting through the whole two hours.

    This film seems based on a premise that I can't buy into, that being that life is effectively not worth living. It's cynical, but not blackly funny; rather, it's just mean-spirited. The odd thing is that, instead of taking a positive impetus away from it ("I should live my life better, in the way this movie recommends"), I took away a negative one ("Who is this crotchety idiot? I'm going to live my life to the fullest JUST TO SHOW HIM THAT HE'S AN IDIOT).

    And there, I guess, is the redemption, the big payoff: I did take something away from this movie. Rather intelligent, but rather indulgent, Synecdoche is as conflicted as all Kaufman works, but less fun to watch than the rest up to this point... even Eternal Sunshine, which I still don't understand... this might be a great film. I didn't feel it, though.
  • YLOWBSTARDreturns
    December 11, 2009
    YLOWBSTARDreturns
    You know, I'm all for artistic expression and films out of the ordinary; but "Synecdoche, New York" is one of the most pretentious, overlong and all-around self-indulgent misfires I've seen in a very long time. It's not the least bit subtle; it's actually really heavy-handed, whi... read morech makes the mystery behind what the hell it all means non existent and in my opinion not worth exploring or revisiting for a second or third time.

    This is a major letdown from kauffman. I've liked all of the films he has written, and the directing on display here is very competent. The problem lies within his script this time around. It really isn't up to his usual caliber, and the film (at 2h 3min.) seemed to drag and was, for lack of a better word, UNPLEASANT.
  • ceWEBrity
    November 5, 2009
    ceWEBrity
    Synecdoche, New York is a piping hot load of art-house horse shit, masquerading as a million things but not really giving us any reason to be invested in any of them. At large the movie would seem to present itself as some metatheatrical look into art, life, and creation, through... read more the eyes of a Kaufman-esque (played with investment but no real stretching by Philip Seymour Hoffman) and brimming with humor utterly absurd enough to distort the fourth wall. That humor, along with the exaggerated musical cues, and the squarely unimaginative casting of Seymour Hoffman, and some really awful late-game passes at emotional string pulling, would seem to be Kaufman's devices to make the movie accessible to us. Whether that was his intention or not, or even if it was his intention to make them all deliriously bad, the movie is immediately and irreparably dishonest for trying to establish a connection through tried-and-true cliches. The fact that it knows that they are cliches does not change that; it's essentially looking a viewer in the eye and saying with a wink "hey, this is stuff that works on people in ~LESSER MOVIES~, so why shouldn't it work for you here too, heh heh". And maybe that helps some viewers to feel better about themselves, smarter perhaps, but here it looks like a movie's vain struggle to make itself seem unimpeachably intelligent and wholly focused and thoughtful. Far. Fucking. From it.

    And look, we all know that Kaufman plays around with narratives that break the fourth wall and the perceptions of reality and all that shit. We loved it in Being John Malkovich, we loved it in Eternal Sunshine, we loved it in Adaptation. Here I could only wonder what's given him the right to put together this narcissistic fantasia of the three, short of 20 million dollars' worth of masturbatory self-interest. I would never decry an auteur for pursuing his personal interests in the cinematic medium and then releasing it for others to indulge in, but it doesn't mean that I automatically have to enjoy or even appreciate the finished product. This plays like Kaufman's Greatest Hits, a movie self-referential in its self-reference and so on until it spirals out into some horrifying Escher pattern. Any third grader can do that. His only true aim in creating Synecdoche, New York was to encompass as many themes and tones and possible and then shield his condemning lack of focus with the umbrella of metafiction. Even the film's grandest conceit, a life-sized copy of New York inside a theater in New York, reflects this, and yet to what end? By the time Kaufman had exhausted his bag of tricks, I had checked out of this tiresome slog, taking nothing from the film except a newfound disdain for these supposedly "clever" narratives. I'm scared to ever watch Adaptation again.

    Essentially, Synecdoche says "fuck you I do what I want" to its befuddled audience, and in concept I do admire that temerity. If one thing can be said for the film, it's that it is ambitious. Expecting a viewer to accept, ruminate on, and defend every single aspect of a film where not even the film is interested in defending them just smacks of arrogance to me. The movie is stiflingly arrogant and enamored with itself, and for all the emotional payloads and philosophical mumblings about life it may have tried to put forth, I simply couldn't have cared about any of them.
  • paulsandberg
    October 23, 2009
    paulsandberg
    reminiscent of David Lych's Inland Empire (which I just now realized how the title has a double meaning - doh!) this film explores how we as humans interact with each other and our expectations of not only ourselves but others (and how one's perceptions can change over time).
    We... read more compatmentalize and then complain when others do not stay in the pretty little boxes we create for them (and do we realize that we ourselves often escape from our own self inflicted boxes?).

    The film blurs the time line and this can be irritating, and yet I suppose true to one's relationship with memories and how they too can change with time and effect how we deal with the here and now.

    The first third of this film seems normal enough; a self absorbed playwrite with neurosis aplenty, is at a loss to understand why the "perfect" life he's created for himself - wife and child and a meaningful job in the profession he desires - is unraveling. He seems unequiped to repair his relationship and meekly watches it desolve.

    From this point it's all a reflection on who, and why, under the guise of a play he is writing and directing - relationships flitter in and out as memories so often do - and time slips away.

    There are many clever inventions at play here, from the very beginning where we see a man on the edges of the action watching - who later becomes the "actor" who portrays the writer. At the end of the film, as an 80 year old cleans his house (how's that for a metaphor?) and then awakens to see how the elaborate set he's created has become filled with grafetti and trash due to neglect, he then relinqushes control of the play (and his life) to others; and in the final scenes picks up an ear piece that tells him what to do and how to act as he comes upon a bit actor in his life who manages to give him compassion - as he rest his head on her shoulder the voice in his ear/head then say, simply, "die" - fade to white.

    A film on this type of topic seems impossible to nail to perfection - it simply can't be done, just as defining humanity can't be done - but here Kaufman seems more on the mark and focused than some other efforts.
    Certainly a film to discuss and a bit more accessable than the Lynch film (and a whole lot shorter!)

View All Synecdoche, New York Reviews

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum
December 17, 2008
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

It seems more like an illustration of his script than a full-fledged movie, proving how much he needs a Spike Jonze or a Michel Gondry to realize his surrealistic conceits. Full Review

Tom Long
November 21, 2008
Tom Long, Detroit News

A surreal exploration of art, love and death, it has the Fellini-esque feel of some lost European cinematic masterpiece that reaches far past the normal boundaries of drama and into the very essence o... Full Review

Bill Goodykoontz
November 13, 2008
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

It's a strange trip, to be sure, but a worthwhile one for those willing to take it. Full Review

Michael Phillips
November 10, 2008
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

I found it bracing, and genuinely in touch with the sweet chaos and ache of life. Full Review

Christopher Orr
November 10, 2008
Christopher Orr, New Republic

Synecdoche, New York is a huge film about puny sentiments, an anti-heroic epic of failure, remorse, alienation, and self-pity. It may not be the best film of the year, but it is very likely to be the ... Full Review

Peter Howell
November 7, 2008
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Synecdoche is fun to mull over, for a while. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
November 7, 2008
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

The temptation to be emphatic about Synecdoche, New York is overwhelming but should be resisted, because the movie really is a mixed bag. A particularly odd mix. Full Review

Amy Biancolli
November 7, 2008
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

I was struck by the peculiar magic of this film, even moved by it, once I gave up all attempts to understand it as a straightforward linear narrative. Full Review

Tom Maurstad
November 7, 2008
Tom Maurstad, Dallas Morning News

It's hard to say just what kind of movie Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut is, and by the end of it, his film has made a pretty convincing case that it's pointless to try. Full Review

Wesley Morris
November 7, 2008
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

Synecdoche, New York comes as close as any film has to explaining the epic indignity of the creative process, how some great works collapse beneath their own abstraction. Full Review

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    • Olive (Adult): Dear diary, I'm afraid I'm gravely ill. It is perhaps times like these that one reflects on things past. An article of clothing from when I was young. A green jacket. I walk with my father. A game we once played. Pretend we're faeries. I'm a girl faerie. My name is Laura Lee. And you're a boy faerie. Your name is Tita Lee. Pretend, when we're faeries we fight each other, and I say 'Stop hitting me I'll die!' And you hit me again and I say, 'Now I have to die.' And then you say, 'But I'll miss you.' And I say, 'But I have to. And you'll have to wait a million years to see me again. And I'll be put in a box, and all I'll need is a tiny glass of water and lots of tiny pieces of pizza and the box will have wings like an airplane.' And you'll ask, 'Where will it take you?' 'Home.' I say.
    • Caden Cotard: I will be dying and so will you, and so will everyone here. That's what I want to explore. We're all hurtling towards death, yet here we are for the moment, alive. Each of us knowing we're going to die, each of us secretly believing we won't.
    • Claire Keen: Knowing that you don't know is the first and the most essential step to knowing, you know?
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