Charlie Kaufman is an evil, mad genius. During his time as a screenwriter, he has crafted some of the most wacky and original story ideas and some of the most out there yet still spectacularly sympathetic characters of our time. He's taught us what it would be like to climb inside of John Malkovich, how to adapt the un-adaptable, and why we should cherish each and every memory with a loved one.
With Synecdoche, New York, Kaufman has had the reigns let loose as he takes to the directors chair for the first time with his own material, and the results couldn't be much more...shall we say...Kaufman-esque.
The story kicks off with Caden Cotard (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) on a successful run directing the stage version of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. Upon his completion of that, he is awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant, and sets out to take on a theatre project so ambitious, it will take him the rest of his life to complete. Caden's wife leaves to pursue her painting career in Europe with their daughter and never returns. Undeterred, Caden continues on his quest, finds a performance warehouse, and begins recreating a mock up of the city around him within the space, and begins to cast actors in the roles of regular everyday people, including one as himself. Things frequently spiral out of control, and the viewers grip on reality is threatened from the get go.
Synecdoche was a script Kaufman took two years to write, and what he has thrown up on the screen looks like an ambitious piece of overworked genius. Kaufman introduces so many ideas, themes, and feelings to the audience without ever really elaborating or exploring any of them. He seems to have a lot to say about life, art, death, relationships, illness, anonymity, but seems to have overstretched himself with this picture. He has crafted some interesting characters and storylines, and so many scenes are wonderful on their own. Unfortunately, the synergy of his direction and screenwriting never really add up to anything, and many times, it seems like Kaufman is being absurd just for the sake of being absurd. This is the kind of film you want to love, but really end up only loving the conversations trying to analyze the film with friends. It's as though Charlie Kaufman made a movie for Charlie Kaufman in a language only he understands. Kaufman is a master of method in his madness, but with this film it appears as though the madness has won out. It's overly convoluted and becomes so difficult to follow, the audiences is taken aback and left not caring.
But there is so much to love in this film despite it's story. Kaufman has written some excellent roles and cast phenomenal actors in their shoes. Catherine Keener, Diane Weist, Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton, and Emily Watson all bring wonderful layers to the story, while Phillip Seymour Hoffman holds the weight of the picture around him to keep us interested in Caden until til the bitter end. Tom Noonan as Sammy, playing Caden, does such a magnificent job with his character, and it is easily the best performance of this Robocop 2 alum's career. Jon Brion has again crafted another download-worthy score with some great songs with lyrics written by Charlie Kaufman. The set design and cinematography will humble you with how impressive they are, but, unfortunately in the end, audiences will be left wondering what this film would look like had it been directed by its intended director, Spike Jonze. Kaufman works with directors who understand his stuff, and they then create these amazing movies that are accessible. Kaufman's directors seem to translate his material--or censor parts of Kaufman--in order to create a successful movie, and he certainly lacked this accessible translation in his own direction.
While this film certainly isn't a waste of your time, Synecdoche, New York is a town you will not hurriedly revisit. It's a sprawling piece of ambitious filmmaking, and that alone is difficult to dismiss as a failure, but unfortunately Kaufman has pulled this film too much from his head and not enough from his heart.
Review by: Greg MacLennan
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