Synecdoche New York (2008)

an unusual movie about life and death

Directed by Charlie Kaufman

 

The title is a pun on the city Schenectady, New York.  A synecdoche  (sin-EK-dough-KEE) is an expression which can be singular or plural, such as “fish,” “cattle,” or “the man” when referring to police.

 

You will need to view this one more than once because you will not get it the first time. There is too much to take in.

 

Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is paranoid about his health. He is married to Adele (Catherine Keener) and they have a young daughter, Olive. Adele is an artist, and one day she takes Olive away to Germany where she continues her career as a painter. Caden is unexpectedly given a Mac Arthur Fellowship, which enables him to realize his dream of creating a theatre piece which he will also direct. It will feature multitudes of actors playing themselves and will be staged in a gigantic performance space in New York.

 

Time passes and the production grows. He has an ill-fated fling with Hazel (Samantha Morton) who ran his ticket office. Then he marries Claire (Michele Williams). Gradually Caden learns that his autonomic systems are shutting down one by one.  This film is striking and will hit you in the gut, especially the ending.

 

The film garnered a great deal of hostility from the Cannes Festival crowd, which is surprising considering the quality of the piece.  Perhaps it is the underlying current that causes such a reaction.  It’s a film about the transitory quality of life, how it takes years to understand people and the events that have happened to you. Suffice it to say that the movie is amazing!

 

You will find it a puzzling film, but it is truly worthwhile if you simply stick to it and view it carefully�"which means LISTEN to the jokes in the script and watch for everything and everyone that is in the movie.  The most unusual part of the film is the end