Charlie Kaufman's Ambitious, Mind-Bending Tragicomedy
Egocentric, audacious, morose, funny, exasperating, inventive, unsatisfying, poignant and pretentious are some of the words that spring to mind in attempting to describe Synecdoche, New York (2008), which was written and directed by Charlie Kaufman. The film is challenging, and you shouldn't bother with it unless you're willing to be uncomfortable and to work.
Philip Seymour Hoffman gives a wonderful performance as the movie's protagonist, and he is supported by seven terrific actresses: Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Emily Watson, Hope Davis, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Dianne Wiest. For viewers who give themselves over to Synecdoche, these actors provide a number of scenes of great emotional power.
The movie chronicles about 40 years in the life of a theater director (Hoffman) who is creating a performance piece that uses thousands of actors inside a humongous warehouse. Also, he suffers from a variety of health problems that become increasingly debilitating as he ages. In addition, he experiences failed marriages to two very different women (Keener and Williams) and has a long-term flirtatious relationship with a third woman (Morton). Gradually the distinction between his messy personal life and his involvement with the theater piece disappears.
Kaufman doesn't tell his story linearly or realistically. Instead, he uses a jigsaw-puzzle narrative structure and dreamlike logic. Synecdoche is a richly textured film that touches on several issues, but above all it is a meditation on the search for meaning in life given the inevitability of death.
The Film's Title and the Protagonist's Last Name
In the phrase "all hands on deck," everyone understands immediately that the word "hands" refers to entire human beings rather than to the parts of those human beings below their wrists. But what most of us have to look up to find out is that this is an example of a synecdoche, that is, an instance of where a part of some entity stands in for the whole of that entity. In choosing his title for Synecdoche, New York, Kaufman seems to be implying that the movie's protagonist stands in for all humankind. But the film's writer-director is also indulging in a little wordplay since when the word "synecdoche" is correctly pronounced, it sounds similar to Schenectady, the workaday city in upstate New York where the movie opens.
It is also of interest to realize where Kaufman apparently got the last name of his central character, Caden Cotard. The reference here is presumably to Cotard's syndrome, a delusion which is usually manifested as a person falsely believing he has lost organs, blood or body parts, but in the most profound cases, the person is seemingly convinced he does not exist. Identification of the condition, which is encountered primarily in psychoses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, is credited to Jules Cotard, a 19th-century French neurologist. Kaufman's choice of the name Cotard for his main character suggests that viewers may find it productive to contemplate Synecdoche, New York in terms of psychology.
DVD Extras
The DVD contains about 100 minutes of bonus materials. Probably the extra of greatest general interest is the 19-minute "In and Around Synecdoche, New York," a making-of where most of the key cast and crew are heard from. A producer claims the movie was filmed on 60 locations and has over 80 speaking parts. We learn that nearly everything was shot in New York City with the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn playing the role of Berlin, Germany.
If it's Charlie Kaufman you're interested in, you'll want to watch the 28-minute "NFTS/Script Factory Masterclass." The NFTS is Britain's National Film and Television School, and this extra is an interview with Kaufman about his writing, particularly for Being John Malkovich (1999), Adaptation (2002) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). Kaufman (born 1958) states he was already 32 years old when he broke into television and went on from there to feature films.
For some intelligent conversation, there's the 36-minute "Infectious Diseases in Cattle: Bloggers' Round Table." Infectious Diseases in Cattle is a title the protagonist in the feature film is considering for his theater piece, and this DVD extra is comprised of five Web-based critics discussing the movie. All five love Synecdoche, New York and offer no negative criticisms of it.
Other DVD extras include the 12-minute "Story of Caden Cotard," which consists of Philip Seymour Hoffman talking about making Synecdoche, New York, and a few minutes of animation produced as source material for clips Hoffman's character watches on TV during the feature film.
DVD Details
Below I have listed all the details for the Synecdoche, New York DVD.
Release Date: March 10, 2009
Feature Film Runtime: 2 hours 4 minutes
MPAA Rating: R for Language and Some Sexual Content/Nudity
English Dolby Digital 5.1
English Closed Captioned
English Subtitles for Bonus Materials
In and Around Synecdoche, New York (19 min.)
The Story of Caden Cotard (12 min.)
Infectious Diseases in Cattle: Bloggers' Round Table (36 min.)
Screen Animations (3 segments with total runtime = 4 1/2 min.)
NFTS/Script Factory Masterclass With Charlie Kaufman (28 min.)
Theatrical Trailer
