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Synecdoche, New York
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Synecdoche, New York (2008) More at IMDbPro »

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Synecdoche, New York (2008) -- This is the theatrical trailer for Synecdoche, New York, directed by Charlie Kaufman.
Synecdoche, New York (2008) -- Oscar-winner writer Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut, SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK follows the life of regional theater director Caden Cotard (Phillip Seymour Hoffman).
Synecdoche, New York (2008) -- A theater director (Hoffman) struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play.
Synecdoche, New York (2008) -- Oscar-winner writer Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut, SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK follows the life of regional theater director Caden Cotard (Phillip Seymour Hoffman).
Synecdoche, New York (2008) -- Oscar-winner writer Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut, SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK follows the life of regional theater director Caden Cotard (Phillip Seymour Hoffman).

Overview

User Rating:
7.5/10   10,517 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 5% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Charlie Kaufman
Writer (WGA):
Charlie Kaufman (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Synecdoche, New York on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
5 February 2009 (Netherlands) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama more
Plot:
A theater director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
5 wins & 8 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(8 articles)
Rourke Steals The Show At The Independent Spirit Awards
 (From WENN. 21 February 2009, 5:23 PM, PST)

Spirit Award Winners
 (From IMDb News. 21 February 2009, 4:14 PM, PST)

User Comments:
Brilliant and bizarre! more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Philip Seymour Hoffman ... Caden Cotard

Catherine Keener ... Adele Lack

Sadie Goldstein ... Olive (4 years old)
Tom Noonan ... Sammy Barnathan

Peter Friedman ... Emergency Room Doctor
Charles Techman ... Like Clockwork Patient

Josh Pais ... Dr. Eisenberg (Opthamologist)

Daniel London ... Tom

Robert Seay ... David

Michelle Williams ... Claire Keen
Stephen Adly Guirgis ... Davis

Samantha Morton ... Hazel

Hope Davis ... Madeleine Gravis
Frank Girardeau ... Plumber

Jennifer Jason Leigh ... Maria
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for language and some sexual content/nudity.
Runtime:
124 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English | German
Color:
Color (DeLuxe)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital | DTS
Company:
Likely Story more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Philip Seymour Hoffman's character's last name is a reference to the Cotard delusion or Cotard's syndrome, also known as nihilistic or negation delusion, which is a rare neuropsychiatric disorder in which a person holds a delusional belief that he or she is dead, does not exist, is putrefying or has lost his/her blood or internal organs. more
Goofs:
Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Announcer on the radio at the very beginning says it's 22 September. The newspaper is dated in October, it's Christmas when the sinks smashes his forehead, New Year's on the ride home and March in the ophthalmologist's office. Kaufman afforded his film a dreamlike quality by playing with the representation of time throughout. more
Quotes:
Caden Cotard: I will be dying and so will you, and so will everyone here. That's what I want to explore. We're all hurtling towards death, yet here we are for the moment, alive. Each of us knowing we're going to die, each of us secretly believing we won't more
Soundtrack:
Auld Lang Syne more

FAQ

A Note Regarding Spoilers
How is "Synecdoche" pronounced?
What's happening? A lot of the film doesn't make sense.
more
84 out of 119 people found the following comment useful:-
Brilliant and bizarre!, 11 October 2008
9/10
Author: toologize

What a trip. You can't expect a conventional picture from Charlie Kaufman, but this was super weird! So weird that half the people left the theatre before the end, either confused or offended by what they saw. Poor Charlie witnessed the whole scene and I suspect it really got to him.

The film's very much Spike Jonze in style, but grander and more ambitious than Malkovich and Adaptation. The first hour is hilarious, next half an hour is still good and you're struggling not to lose threads, the last half an hour gets really messy and tends to drag a bit. It might be due to Charlie's inexperience as a director, or it might be intentional and a means to express one of the points of the film (futility and dragging of time), or the topics simply grew too difficult to deal with, but it seems to me that the last part could have been made a bit more compact for a stronger impression. Seven to ten minutes less would have helped, if that was possible.

Perhaps Jonze would have done a better job in terms of pacing and craftsmanship, but the content is still really strong. The film had been five years in the making and you can feel the issues that Kaufman wanted to address brimming over. Illness, death, transience, love, relationships, passion, devotion, art, theatre, identity, hope, so many topics dealt with in a painfully sincere way. You both laugh and get emotionally affected all the time along with being confused by the twists of the plot and the grotesqueness of the imagery. You get many 'this is so true' moments that you completely identify with and then you suddenly get struck by a completely surreal scene. The film certainly reinforced my impression of Kaufman as a bastard son of Woody Allen and Tom Stoppard.

The cast is wonderful. Philip Seymour Hoffman has to be singled out for his magnificent performance. I have never been much of a fan of his and I was somewhat bothered by the idea of him as a lead in the next Kaufman movie. I didn't think he had a presence for that, but did he prove me wrong! Appearing in virtually every scene, the man has carried this film on his shoulders. He has created a completely lovable and ludicrous character and conveyed Kaufman's ideas splendidly.

Catherine Keener is as fun and adorable as ever! As a fan, I was really overwhelmed by this experience. I saw it two nights in a row, and spent hours discussing it with friends. The film is a bit difficult to comprehend instantaneously and Kaufman himself insists it requires a second watching. It is an amazing picture, rarely thought-provoking, and I can't wait to see it for the third time.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Synecdoche, New York (2008)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Are you people insane? Cooosh18
Absolute Crap roadcustard
The entire film summed up in a monologue *SPOILER* thekvetchacademy
SPOILER : fathers and their children thewood
''oh you don't get it, it's art'' tvrdjava
Has there been one post here that... moviefiend!
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