Synecdoche, New York Review

Synecdoche, New York (2008): A Film by Charlie Kaufman

Charlie Kaufman, the scribe of such refreshing films as "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Adaptation," and "Being John Malkovich," can add another incredibly impressive work to his resume. Whether or not "Synecdoche, New York" will be considered his greatest masterpiece is arguable, but I would like to argue for it.

Looking at Kaufman's overall oeuvre, it can be noted that all of his films have to do with the identity, memories, and such horrors as loneliness, death, or more appropriately, dying lonely. "Synecdoche" follows in the footsteps of Kaufman's previous works by introducing us to Caden Cotard, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Caden is suffering from some sort of disease that doctors cannot identify, a disease in which the only thing that is known is that he will die. The women he loves eventually leave him because of his depression, his sickness, and his inability to remain faithful to those he is with. Do these women love him or pity him so much as to sleep with him?

From my description, Caden may sound like an unenjoyable, depressing main character. He absolutely is. The key to the character, though, is that you can identify with him, which remains of upmost importance to his likeability. We do pity him, yes. Does that mean we also pity ourselves? Possibly. We all want to be loved, we all want someone to "complete" us, we all want to be good people and satisfy everyone around us. So does Caden.

The story, in short, as to not ruin any of the inventiveness of it or make a futile attempt at the labarynthine plot, is as follows: Caden is awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant and attempts to stage a play in an enormous warehouse in New York City. Inside the warehouse, a replica of New York City is built. The problem is, if there is a replica of New York City in the real warehouse, a replica of the warehouse must also be built, and a replica of that replica, and so on. Caden has actors and actresses play people he knows and interacts with, namely his wives, mistresses, etc. Once again, the problem here is that he must then find actors and actresses to play the actors and actresses playing real people in his life, and so on, and so on, and so on. Get it?

I read in an interview that Kaufman was originally slated to write a horror movie, which eventually developed into this script. Though it would not be traditionally labeled a horror movie, it is incredibly frightening in its exploration of loneliness, isolation, imminence of death, and the nature of identity. The movie provides plenty of humor, most especially from the wonderful performances, but it's not likely to have you clinching your sides as much as chuckling to yourself while you squirm at the uneasy truthfulness of it all. The last few scenes in the movie I will have to watch again to determine exactly what I saw, but the very final scene in the movie is unlike anything else you will see in the movies today. Guaranteed.

Kaufman's movies were never meant to be understood or dissected in a solitary viewing. Watch "Eternal Sunshine" a few more times to obtain the total emotional resonance. Kaufman's directorial debut, "Synecdoche, New York," I suspect, is no different. I have not yet come across a screenwriter with such talent, wit, and human understanding as Charlie Kaufman. He certainly has given David Mamet a run for his money, and with "Synecdoche, New York," I suspect Kaufman finally proves that he is the single most talanted screenwriter working in Hollywood today.

Rating: 4/4 stars