Synecdoche, NY is a film about everything. It paints life, death, and the failing pursuit of happiness with a less than wide pallet of colors ranging from gray to black and lastly, a color I’ve decided to name blacker than black. That just means this film is heavy and grim. There’s not a whole lot of room left for happiness and you’ll probably want to watch something inspiring afterwards, but it does have its moments of witty humor. Though it may sound like Synecdoche is going to be another cliché movie, it isn’t. This is a film you have never seen before, unless, that is, you caught a glimpse during its brief stint at the box office. This is the first film under the direction of Charlie Kaufman (writer of Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Being John Malkovich). Kaufman brilliantly blends his bizarre style of surreal writing with what he’s learned working with directors such as Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry.
Essentially, Synecdoche chronicles the life of Caden Cotard (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), a depressed playwright whose life isn’t exactly perfect. We begin to observe Caden in his mid to late thirties. He’s married to future world-famous painter, Adele Lack (Catherine Keener), and they have one four-year-old child, Olive. When Adele leaves for Germany with Olive, Caden’s life becomes even more out of control and full of despair. Caden decides to write a play about himself, but more specifically, about life. Eventually, we begin to relive, almost verbatim, past scenes of the film as rehearsals for Caden’s play begin to take place. This film is one of the finest examples of how cinema can morph the very time and space which the characters on screen experience. As we skip along to view Caden’s lifetime up through his time of elder age, so does Caden experience it in the same manner. Caden doesn’t seem to have much grasp over time and I felt as if whatever we, the viewers saw, was all that Caden lived as well.
Synecdoche is intricate. I feel I could write an entire novel on just the film’s characters. There is a lot to absorb but it doesn’t leave you confused. Kaufman has crafted the script in such a manner that the characters and key plot points are coherent. Incorporated within Synecdoche are elements both small and large, though, so to experience everything Synecdoche has to offer, you must be aware at all times. You may even need to watch it again a day later. It’s a wonder to me why Synecdoche, NY wasn’t nominated for the Academy Awards. Perhaps it’s because it simply isn’t mainstream enough, but it is one of my favorite films to come out of 2008. – [DVD] [Blu-Ray]
Comedy/Drama
Rated R
DVD Release Date: 3/10/09