Synecdoche, New York

What should a filmmaker, who wants to be considered an artist, strive for? In other words, what should their films be? Original and interesting, spring instantly to mind.  Synecdoche New York is both of these, and more.

Brought forth from the troubled mind of most wanted writer Charlie Kaufman, Synecdoche is his directorial debut. His previous films, Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Adaptation, bewilder and delight in equal measure. Does Synecdoche keep the hot streak going, or does it veer a little too far towards pretension?

That, of course, is for you to decide, and I myself, am undecided. Like all Kaufman films, this is cerebral stuff; you really have to pay it your full attention, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll revel in the challenge and really wrap your head around it, well aware that that is what the film is for and the rewards will be abundant. But Synecdoche takes it further… it refuses to explain itself, delighting in the ambiguity created by such strange scenes as a perfectly normal conversation taking place in a sitting room that has been set alight. Airships pass overhead and ominous looking buses transport unwilling passengers to the mysteriously named ‘Funland’ – the World appears to be going to hell in a hand basket, and we are never offered an explanation as to why.

Synedoche is, like Adaptation, the story of a troubled writer, this time a playwright, perfectly played by the much in demand Phillip Seymour Hoffman. His mission for truth and purity within his art is all consuming, at the cost of his relationships, his life, and his daughter. He is a hypochondriac obsessed with death, disease and his work. He receives a ‘genius’ grant, and with it, sets about creating the work that will define his career. It grows into a monumental mission, and eventually, consumes it’s creator.

Synedoche is a sad, beautiful and baffling film. For some, it will be too much, for others, it’ll be refreshingly open to interpretation. Whatever the film is and isn’t, it is something every film should strive to be; interesting and original. See it and see what you make of it.

Last edited: 9th October 2009