Samantha Morton Movie:

		List Price: $39.95		Label: Sony Pictures Salesrank: 19618 Released: March 10, 2009
		Our Price: $23.54
		Used Price: $14.76
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: Blu-ray

Editorial Review:
From Charlie Kaufman, comes a visual and philosophic adventure, Synechdoche, New York. As he did with his groundbreaking scripts for Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Kaufman twists and subverts form and language as he delves into the mind of a man who, obsessed with his own mortality, sets out to construct a massive artistic enterprise that could give some meaning to his life. Theater director Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is mounting a new play. His life catering to suburban blue-hairs at the local regional theater in Schenectady, New York is looking bleak. His wife Adele (Catherine Keener) has left him to pursue her painting in Berlin, taking their young daughter Olive with her. His therapist, Madeleine Gravis (Hope Davis), is better at plugging her best-seller than she is at counseling him. A new relationship with the alluringly candid Hazel (Samantha Morton) has prematurely run aground. And a mysterious condition is systematically shutting down each of his autonomic functions, one by one. Worried about the transience of his life, he leaves his home behind. He gathers an ensemble cast into a warehouse in New York City, hoping to create a work of brutal honesty. He directs them in a celebration of the mundane, instructing each to live out their constructed lives in a growing mockup of the city outside. The years rapidly fold into each other, and Caden buries himself deeper into his masterpiece, but the textured tangle of real and theatrical relationships blurs the line between the world of the play and that of Caden's own deteriorating reality.

Description of Synecdoche, New York [Blu-ray]:
An insanely ambitious, dazzling, maddening movie, Synecdoche, NY is the directorial debut of Charlie Kaufman, the inspired screenwriter of twisty, mind-bending movies like Being John Malkovich, Adaptation., and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Broadly summarized, it's about a director named Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who, after his wife leaves him, sets out to create a theater production that will mirror all of life in New York City by literally recreating the city inside of a gigantic warehouse--including versions of his lover, his new wife, and himself, who become so entrenched in his life that eventually there must also be doubles of these doubles... which only describes a fragment of the intertwining storylines. At points even the most attentive viewers may feel confused by the sheer abundance and density of ideas and narrative threads, as the movie veers from mundanity to an exaggerated but not impossible reality to sheer surrealism. But by the end, though the movie folds in on itself multiple times and tries to encompass more of life than any movie can coherently contain, Synecdoche, NY comes to a remarkably full and resonant conclusion. Think of it as Kaufman's version of 8 1/2, another movie about creativity and a conflicted psyche. Hoffman's performance, solid but difficult to empathize with, is balanced by dozens of vivid characters played by an astonishing cast, including Samantha Morton, Catherine Keener, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hope Davis, Michelle Williams, Dianne Wiest, Emily Watson, and more. Sprawling, flawed, both intimate and epic, Synecdoche, NY is a unique and impressive achievement that will reward (and perhaps even demands) multiple viewings. --Bret Fetzer

Stills from Synecdoche, New York (click for larger image)

Synecdoche, New York [Blu-ray] Reviews:
a movie that MUST be watched at least TWICE
2009-12-11 - I hated this movie the first time I saw it. Despised might be a better word. But after watching it again, the whole thing made a lot more sense. I think I might love it now. Actually, Im still trying to figure out how I feel about it. I can say this for sure, though: I've never had such a huge turnaround on any movie after watching it a second time.

In short, this movie plays out like a big messy cycle, where if you've only seen it once, you've only made it through the first half of the cycle. The payoffs don't really come until you watch it again.

Thus, all reviews here from people who've only seen it once should be discarded. Go watch it again, and then come back and edit your review. Even if you do still love it or hate it, or whatever, you'll at least have experienced the whole thing at that point.

I guess you could say that, by itself, I view this as one half of a movie, where the movie itself, viewed a second time, is the second half. That might not make sense, but to this reviewer it does (sort of).


All the world's a stage
2009-12-07 - Almost as soon as I was done watching this movie, I was thinking I need to watch it again. This is one of those movies with some complex pieces which bear re-watching to get everything out of it. It is a rather strange movie in general, which one should expect from Charlie Kaufman, who also brought us the wonderful but equally bizarre "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "Being John Malkovich". But then that's Kaufman's genius, the ability to make puzzling yet equally entertaining movies that are thought-provoking.

Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Caden Cotard, a director who loves his daughter but is stuck in a bad marriage. His wife appears to despise him and leaves for Europe to pursue her own career doing tiny paintings and taking their daughter. In the meantime, one of the actresses working for Caden as well as the theater ticket-taker both express some romantic interest in him. Professionally, Caden has success directing "Death of a Salesman" for a small theater; however, his big chance comes when he's given a huge grant. He uses the grant to create a production which is as big as life itself, using scenes from his own life and building reproductions of the places he lives and works inside a huge warehouse. The production gets bigger and bigger to the point where they need to hire an actor to portray the actor who is portraying Caden.

The movie can be a big confusing at times, with an occasionally deceiving passage of time and recursive references. And really, how many times do you see someone buy a house which is on fire? Still, I believe the meaning behind it all comes across rather well. It's rather similar to the classic quote from Shakespeare, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." It's Kaufman's presentation which breathes new life into the old idea and makes for an interesting movie which is well worth watching.

Life without antidepressants
2009-11-25 - For me, this movie woke me up about a half hour in with the realization that I was watching and hearing thoughts that have been in my own head for years. If you find your inner voice keeping you up late at night, going over and over the same painful questions then I think you will be familiar with the experience of watching this film.

Keeping in mind that most sane people seek professional help and pharmaceutical relief from this experience, it does seem like an odd choice to market the experience in DVD form. That said, I find it strangely therapeutic to know that I am not alone in my head, Charlie is there to keep me company. I believe it was the philosopher, Pascal, who suggested that the strongest motivation in our lives is to distract ourselves from the reality that life is, for the most part, an horrible and painful experience. This film is not a distraction it is a mirror. For those out there that prefer to believe that life is a precious and beautiful miracle, and take their prozac and church services seriously... You might want to stay away from this movie.

To the nuts and bolts of the film. The only things that are taking some time to get used to are the obvious jumps out of reality. Living in a smoldering house for example, the airplane scene is another. My question is how these whimsical elements fit in film about the torture of life? Maybe that, as predictable as you feel life has become, occasionally you will be surprised by surreal moments? Or maybe it is just Charlie sticking his head in your face reminding you to smile?

If you're a person that should be on antidepressants but choose not to be because you believe life should be experienced rather than hidden from you might appreciate this film.. If you "don't get it" I guess you can be thankful? Or maybe you need to watch it again with the idea in mind that for a lot of people, this the reality that goes on between their ears.



Amazing Film, changed the way I watched and felt about movies.
2009-11-12 - When I saw this movie in theatres, I didn't appreciate what I was watching. This film is immensely thought provoking and although everyone may not see it the same, if you truly want to be "challenged" by a film, this is one for you. I have watched it at home, and it is brilliant. The original score enhances the feel of this movie as well.

One of the best movies of all time
2009-11-01 - "Synecdoche, New York" is a true artistic masterpiece. It is a very profound work of genius. Thank you so very much, Charlie Kaufman.