Leisure
In the first film he's both written and directed, Synecdoche, NY, Charlie Kaufman employs one of the most common archetypes of our time: the sad, unattractive, pot-bellied, middle-aged husband who doesn't feel like his life has a drop of significance. But where other films find the usual fixes in new jobs or women, Synecdoche enters into a different reality altogether. Phillip Seymour Hoffman's Caden Cotard watches his body deteriorate and his world become less and less like the one we actually live in, as Kaufman creates an alternate world where the normal laws of society, time, and physics don't apply. The viewer must likewise abandon logic and reason, but the reward will be an emotionally challenging and visually astounding journey.
By
Sara Carothers
November 13, 2008