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Synecdoche New York (1 viewing)
Charlie Kaufman has always blended reality and surreality in his scripts and now that he's in the director's chair - he goes all out on making as many little worlds inside of one another as possible. On my first viewing there was too much information being presented at a time. Which is why I really look forward to seeing it again.
The movie starts off with Caden Cotard (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) who I suppose in some ways is to represent Kaufman himself - as he starts losing his health and is soon convinced he will be dieing soon. Not long after his wife leaves with his daughter and he is left alone where he starts to lose track of time. Years go by unnoticed by Cotard until he receives a genius grant to do whatever he pleases with it. He comes up with the idea to make a massive stage production that he ultimately comes to use to live out his own life.
It's a massive scale movie and it's already over in two hours. Of course the problem with this is some emotional disconnect with several characters , the further it went the more confused I became about who was who anymore. It's enjoyable confusement though , because on my next viewings I will be able to connect more characters to each other and really see how everything is panning out. As the characters and relationships of the hundreds of actors in this play develop - the buildings to replicate New York become real buildings and the city expands out of the original warehouse it started in.
Cotard is as impossible a character to describe as any real person , you'll find your own reasoning for him in the end - but no ones will be the same. The paradox of him feeling lonely even when all these hundreds of people rely on him to know what to do in the play (which is practically their lives). You will feel for his character in any case because of Hoffman's amazing performance. The amazing acting may be overlooked because everyone involved is as realistic as each other Catherine Keener , Michelle Williams , Samantha Morton , Emily Watson all deserve a lot of credit for immersing you into Cotard and the city inside the city.
Synecdoche New York really captures you by presenting breathtaking visuals. The shots of the city being constructed are easily the coolest parts of it all , but everything is shot with a masters eye. The colors are never very bright and lots of time the settings are very grimy looking. It's all very detailed and nearing the end it's like watching one thing get topped by another. Seeing all these actors in this huge fake New York is unlike something I've seen before.
It's really funny at times , vastly complex , and has a bleak message of inevitable death. Kaufman describes it as a horror movie and that is one way to look at it , but I see it as one of the most well constructed films with layers and layers of material to entertain you.
Charlie Kaufman has always blended reality and surreality in his scripts and now that he's in the director's chair - he goes all out on making as many little worlds inside of one another as possible. On my first viewing there was too much information being presented at a time. Which is why I really look forward to seeing it again.
The movie starts off with Caden Cotard (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) who I suppose in some ways is to represent Kaufman himself - as he starts losing his health and is soon convinced he will be dieing soon. Not long after his wife leaves with his daughter and he is left alone where he starts to lose track of time. Years go by unnoticed by Cotard until he receives a genius grant to do whatever he pleases with it. He comes up with the idea to make a massive stage production that he ultimately comes to use to live out his own life.
It's a massive scale movie and it's already over in two hours. Of course the problem with this is some emotional disconnect with several characters , the further it went the more confused I became about who was who anymore. It's enjoyable confusement though , because on my next viewings I will be able to connect more characters to each other and really see how everything is panning out. As the characters and relationships of the hundreds of actors in this play develop - the buildings to replicate New York become real buildings and the city expands out of the original warehouse it started in.
Cotard is as impossible a character to describe as any real person , you'll find your own reasoning for him in the end - but no ones will be the same. The paradox of him feeling lonely even when all these hundreds of people rely on him to know what to do in the play (which is practically their lives). You will feel for his character in any case because of Hoffman's amazing performance. The amazing acting may be overlooked because everyone involved is as realistic as each other Catherine Keener , Michelle Williams , Samantha Morton , Emily Watson all deserve a lot of credit for immersing you into Cotard and the city inside the city.
Synecdoche New York really captures you by presenting breathtaking visuals. The shots of the city being constructed are easily the coolest parts of it all , but everything is shot with a masters eye. The colors are never very bright and lots of time the settings are very grimy looking. It's all very detailed and nearing the end it's like watching one thing get topped by another. Seeing all these actors in this huge fake New York is unlike something I've seen before.
It's really funny at times , vastly complex , and has a bleak message of inevitable death. Kaufman describes it as a horror movie and that is one way to look at it , but I see it as one of the most well constructed films with layers and layers of material to entertain you.