Synecdoche, New York is quite possibly one of the maddest and most baffling films I’ve ever seen. This is not entirely surprising when you consider that not only did Charlie Kaufman write it, he also directed it too. This goes beyond Lynchian non-linear madness, elevating Kaufman-esque into a whole new league of craziness.The cast reads like a whos-who of indie cinema: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Hope Davis, Catherine Keener, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Samantha Morton, Emily Watson and Michelle Williams to name a few.
The story, such as it can be detected within the madness, concerns theatre director Hoffman’s emotional, psychological and physical breakdown as he ponders the meaning of his life and death and his fear of failure that utterly constrains him. Ultimately his meditation/investigation of his own soul becomes living theatre in a huge warehouse.
Using a time-slip device, not dissimilar to the internal dream logic that held Spotless Mind together (or apart!), Kaufman subjects Hoffman to witnessing those around ageing hundreds of times faster than him, so that the four-year-old daughter he’s missed for a week is suddenly 10 years old.
There are many genuine laughs as well as the trademark unsettling stuff from Kaufman, backed by some heart too. It’s nowhere near as emotionally nourishing as Spotless, but the relationship between Hoffman and Morton is well-staged and played and represents the emotional core of the film.
There will be some reviewers who’ll say that you need to watch this stoned, but that’s simply a cheap escape from trying to make sense of the madness – for there is method behind. Nevertheless this is challenging viewing and maybe better suited to home viewing.
Score: impossible to calculate!
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