Synecdoche, New York

Pointless and all unreal

I went to the preview of this film and was dubious about it from what I had heard.

After two hours the audience began to walk out and we followed them.

He was given a grant which he used to spend 17 years rehearsing about 30 actors in a large wharehouse or was this all imagined .

Also there scenes of his various failed relationships and his hypochondria.

[Highly rated reviewer]

8 1/2 and another 1/2

Charlie Kaufman bursts into the realm of directing with another sprawling, surreal and wholy original piece of cinema.

The first thing that must be said about Synecdoche New York is that this is certainly not for everyone. This film will get mixed reviews. People will hate this film. It will be resented for it's unashamed and uncompromising look on the down side of life. In the same way Radiohead have always faced critisism for being 'too depressing', but it makes the work no less brilliant.

As usual, there are numerous inventive flourishes and signiture inward looking narrative paradoxes from the brain of Kaufman. The performances are unanimously outstanding. And Samantha Morton shines...

[Highly rated reviewer]

It's gonna take a few watches to fully get this.

I was enjoying what I was seeing and it made a bit of sense, well the basic story was quite easy to follow but there is something greater going on that another couple of viewings should let me get more out of it.

Time speeds up the further into the movie you go which makes it hard to follow, it's like a biopic where it jumps 5 years with no mention of it but in this a lot of things have changed during that missing period and then there's the added part of Phillip Seymour Hoffmans characters massive play which is mirroring real life so I was a bit confused, although I'm looking forward to watching it again.

[Highly rated reviewer]

strange to say the least.

I saw this film in the States when it was out over there, which was a good while ago. I totally forgot about it until I saw the posters on the underground for it to come out on this side of the pond, and everytime I saw a poster I would spend a good half an hour on the tube confused.

The film is odd. Its not bad, just weird. I think you need to see it a few times to get it. My friend who took me to see it thought it was the most amazing film he had ever seen. I remin less impressed. It wasn't bad, I just didn't really get it.

This review is semi pointless, but I think it sums up the film well. Once again i will sit her eand try and work out what was going on in this film. Great cast though!

[Highly rated reviewer]

Fantastic and unique, but for a more imaginative and open minded audience

Fantastic movie, however certainly not for the... less intelligent audience. The movie is designed in such a way that all viewers perceive a different storyline and message. It's not exactly James Bond or Mission Impossible, but it's a movie thats part of it's own unique category. Probably a good idea to watch the film twice, because you could have missed a lot.

Pretentious and boring

Over two hours waiting for something that would have made think it was worth being in front of the screen... but it never happened. A waste of time. And I love cinema, so I very rarely think this way. A film can be more or less engaging, more or less entertaining, but there is usually at least *something* that makes it worth it. This time I thought it was neither interesting nor entertaining. I wish it had been mind-numbing at least. I just found it boring, terribly repetitive and painfully long.

What did Charlie Kaufman want to tell us with this film? Why would the audience be interested in Caden Cotard (P. S. Hoffman) life-long elucubrations? Was it an attempt to make us reflect upon how we could feel by realising that life is transient? What was the meaning of the line between real life and theatre becoming increasingly blurred? I suspect even Kaufman himself lost track of the message he wanted to give us. Last but not least, I thought the 'weirdness' was a totally unnecessary addition, which became annoying after a little while.

Sorry Charlie, everyone can get it wrong sometimes. This was your turn.

bizarre but brilliant

With enough patience this film will pay off. It is utterly bizarre and complex but is in the end an enjoyable experience. If you have any appreciation for real cinema you should give this a rent as it is definitely worth a watch.

a complete mind.......

I can understand why people didn't like this, but for me it was an amazing film, breaking 100s of rules and expecting you to go with it.

Maybe it works better in the cinema because that forces you to pay attention. So if you watch it on DVD have a coffee/tea and don't get up, tie yourself to the seat, you'll miss some great moments or you'll loose the flow, This is so much fun to watch and blow your mind.

Synecdoche, New York

The story of a struggling playwright and director in an unhappy marriage after suffering a hasch-induced psycosis.

Had this been the synopsis in the cinema-program I hadn't gone to see it, instead I was pulled to it as 'another masterpiece by Charlie' and 'to interpret as one wish'.

I rate films on how enjoyable and good I perceive them and this would have a struggling one star for me, however many of the symbolisms I perceive as outstanding and for those I'd give it a four, so it averages a 3.

As opposed to 'Being John Malcowitz' and 'Adaptations', this is a less 'funny' film and not one to form a 'good night out on' I think.

Difficult to love

Thank God Charlie has a bit of wit, otherwise this would be totally unwatchable. As it is, it is painfully slowgoing, terribly wrought and self important and post-modern and knowing. There are moments - jokes even - that remind you there's an amazing writing talent at work, but they are few and far between.;

Enjoyment is also to be gained from an excellent ensemble of actresses - especially our own Samantha Morton and Emily Blunt.

But by the time the first time director's neurosis have gone, quite literally, global you'll find it hard to care.

Let's hope Spike Jonze has a hand in the next Kaufman vehicle.