Review: Synecdoche, New York

I think I picked Synecdoche, New York based on the cast or something. I was in a hurry. What I didn't realize going into it was not only was this movie written by the infamous Charlie Kaufman, who had also penned Being John Malkovich, Adaptation., and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, to name a few, but it was directorial debut. They had originally lined up Spike Jonze, who had directed a couple of the aforementioned movies, but by the time Kaufman finished this screenplay, he was busy directing Where the Wild Things Are.

I was in the rush line for this film and I was one of the last few people to get in. I'm still trying to sort out if that was lucky or not. The first ten or fifteen minutes that I saw were hysterical. It started with a scene involving the lead character Caden Cotard, played by the masterful Philip Seymour Hoffman, in a car with his wife Adele Lack (Catherine Keener) and 4-year old daughter Olive (Sadie Goldstein). There was wit abound as they established that Caden struggled to relate to those around him in words, ironic because he is a playwright. Kaufman always seems to be writing about himself.

After those first fifteen minutes, things get a bit schizophrenic. Caden seems to be coming down with some physical ailments; he has pustules on his face and legs, urinates blood, has seizures, you name it. Meanwhile, Adele seems to be pulling away from Caden; they see a therapist, a hilarious portrayal by Hope Davis. It's then that box office manager Hazel (Emily Watson) throws herself at him, but there are issues; he cries when they finally go to bed and has troubles "performing", but perhaps it's all for the best anyway, as she buys a house that's on fire. I'm not making that part up. It's a slow burn, though.

Eventually, still struggling, Caden receives a grant from the MacArthur foundation, which sets him up nicely to produce a meaningful work packed full of truth, without any worries about people actually paying to see it. Caden sets off to writing a living play about his own life, sure only to try to figure out what's going on with him. Joining in his cast are Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Michelle Williams.

I thought about this review quite a bit last night and this morning, and I think the best way to convey what the movie is like would be to hire someone to play me and then watch them write this review. Of course, being true to the part, this character would then have to hire someone to play me hiring them to play me. Or something like that. The whole thing spirals out of control, as Caden builds a replica of New York in a large abandoned warehouse. Of course, that whole thing turns into one of those Russian doll things.

I don't know how to rate this film. I wouldn't recommend seeing it unless you're up for something completely different, or you've seen all of Charlie Kaufman's movies and think he's a genius. Me, I'll probably think twice before seeing his next one. My imdb rating: 6/10.