Synecdoche, New York

I am going to attempt to do the impossible: Write a review of a movie I've read much about without being influenced by outsider opinions.

'Synecdoche, New York' is a new film written by Charlie Kaufman (also directing for the first time), the writer behind 'Adaptation.,' 'Being John Malkovich,' and 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.' If you've seen any of those movies, you know the plot premise is far from normal -- and even if it was 'normal,' it would be told so extraordinarily that it's near impossible to understand.

The plot to this film is basic: Caden is a playwright who is fed up of his work and aims to portray life and death and loss, but with each person in a starring role. No one will be a secondary character -- like in the 'real world.' To do that, he creates a scale replica of New York in a warehouse, and in that warehouse/play he has someone play him, and someone play his lover, and in that, those actors hire actors to play them, etc. etc. etc. But the film aims much deeper than a play about life within a play.

Caden is played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, who is truly a gifted actor. You only have to glance at his IMDb page to see how many great movies he's been in and roles he has played. Here is another one.

I can't believe this is relevant, but today I was watching Bravo and a commercial for Flipping Out came on, and Jeff Lewis was firing a man because their work environment was dysfunctional and the man being fired was too normal (or, not dysfunctional enough). Synecdoche revolves around the lives of people close to Caden and their dysfunctional behaviors. There is his (ex-)wife Adele who becomes a lesbian and leaves him to pursue an art career, his first daughter Olive, who seems to end up more disproportionate to reality than anyone else. Caden also has a slew of women in his life who mean different things to him. To explain his relations to them, or how things turn out for them, or why, would do nothing but cheapen the effect of the film and the subtlety is works with. So, I will not.

The play being developed is an experiment that, at the last given number, is 17 years in progress. By the end of the film I would guess it's about 35. Many people come and die, and we feel all of these losses through Caden, because it seems loss is the only emotion he really knows. He tries to create and to escape and to be a good father, but nothing in his whole life ever works out for him -- and he seems to accept that. It's sad.

I mentioned a person getting fired for being too functional. In this film it would be Claire (Michelle Williams), an actor from his original real-world play (a 'play' in traditional standards). She follows him to this replication, humors him, loves him, has a kid with him, but she sees everything clearly. She is the last tie between Caden and us, the real world. She gets that this whole thing is theater, while all the other actors take it as their new life. She leaves Caden to pursue acting in a traditional sense. She can't deal with Caden's obsession. When Claire gives up on Caden's project 2/3 through the film, it seems that this is the point of no return. Us, the audience, either join Claire and storm off the life-size apartment set, or we stay to see if Caden finally finds his truth. Thirty minutes into the film I would have followed Claire (two people in my theater actually did walk out), but by that point, I was drawn in. As ridiculous as all of this sounds, there is a truth in how its presentation. And is that not what great art does? It presents truths to us in new ways which we have not thought of, or in means we can learn from.

I need to see this film a second time. I know my opinion will change of the film. How much, I am not sure. What I do know, though, is that this film has an effect not immediately after you leave the theater, but when you're thinking about it a day later. And I don't remember the whole movie or it's plot or many particular scenes, but I do remember how it made me feel. I'll leave it up to you to determine how you feel, because telling you my feelings would only cheapen yours.