Charlie Kaufman's 'Synecdoche, New York' is one far-out trip


by Mike Scott, Movie writer, The Times-Picayune
Friday November 21, 2008, 4:30 AM

Philip Seymour Hoffman, left, Michelle Williams and Tom Noonan in 'Syndecdoche, New York.'

It's a delicate line that screenwriter Charlie Kaufman walks.

In possession of a wonderfully weird brain, he has churned out some of the more satisfying Hollywood head trips in recent years, films such as "Being John Malkovich" (1999), "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" (2002) and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (2004).

Seemingly obsessed with the surreal, Kaufman seems to enjoy tweaking his audiences' brains as much as his characters'. (Two of the aforementioned movies actually have "mind" in the title. The other involves climbing inside of one.)

When it works, his unique brand of mind-messery can be bizarre and outlandish and entirely satisfying. When it doesn't, however, it can be nothing short of befuddling.

And then there are those films like his new couch trip, "Synecdoche, New York, " for which Kaufman climbs into the director's chair for the first time. In it, both sides of the approach are on display.

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Samantha Morton in 'Synecdoche, New York.'

2.5 stars, out of 4

Plot: A theater director, his personal life in tatters, embarks on a plan to turn a massive warehouse into a stage where players mimic real life outside.

What works: Writer/director Charlie Kaufman's wonderfully left-field sensibilities are served well by strong performances.

What doesn't: It's an occasionally befuddling piece, and one that goes on about 20 minutes too long.

Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Diane Wiest, Jennifer Jason Leigh. Director: Kaufman. Running time: R for language and some sexual content/nudity. Rating: 2 hours 2 minutes. Where: Canal Place.


• On the Web: Official site for "Synecdoche, New York."

The set-up for his film -- Merriam-Webster will help you with that title -- is thrillingly unique. The payoff, though, never really crystallizes in a satisfying way. The result is a film filled with head-scratching surrealism that too often seems there only for its own sake. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Samantha Morton in the story of a grief-stricken theater director who embarks on his magnum opus, in which he turns a massive warehouse into a city-sized stage where players mimic the real lives unfolding outside. Along the way, the lines between reality and make-believe become hopelessly blurred.

Like Hoffman's theater director (the mostly miserable Caden Cotard), "Synecdoche" has a preoccupation with morbidity -- with illness, with disease, with death -- and expresses it smartly through those trademark surrealist flourishes.

What it's really about, though, is living, something Caden forgets to do because he's so busy worrying about dying. He's a miserable but pitiable guy, waiting years for his life to fix itself and becoming hopelessly lost in the process.

Aided by strong performances all around -- the talent of the cast greatly outweighs its flashiness -- Kaufman dreamily fuzzes over rules of time, of physics, of reality. When it makes sense, it's a thrill.

When it makes sense.

Then again, if you're not the kind who can comfortably admit that certain symbolism and metaphors are over your head (Morton's house is on fire why exactly? And what in the world is up with the zosters on Hope Davis's feet?) and enjoy the moments you can wrap your head around, then you're probably not a Kaufman fan to begin with.

Even with its flaws, including that flabby running time, "Synechdoche, New York" is an interesting film at least, a thinker through and through -- and often funny, to boot -- for those patient enough to let it all wash over them. It's also a bizarre and at-times confusing freak-out.

In other words, pure Kaufman.

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