‎Synecdoche, New York (2008) directed by Charlie Kaufman • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Synecdoche, New York

2008 Directed by Charlie Kaufman

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.

Philip Seymour Hoffman Samantha Morton Jennifer Jason Leigh Michelle Williams Catherine Keener Emily Watson Tom Noonan Sadie Goldstein Hope Davis Dianne Wiest Kristen Bush Alice Drummond Amy Wright Deirdre O'Connell Elizabeth Marvel Charles Techman Tom Greer Josh Pais Lynn Cohen Daisy Tahan

124 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Adam Cook ★★★★★ 33

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

**NOTE: This is less a review and more a rough analysis of the film so please do not read if you have yet to see the film.**

I think this will be Kaufman's Eyes Wide Shut in that it won't get the recognition it truly deserves for at least ten years. Synecdoche, New York is pure cinema. No other medium could possibly attempt to tell this story. It would be largely incomprehensible as a novel and too bogged down in detail to have any real emotional resonance. Whilst no theatre could do justice to the scale the story demands or unfold in such a unique time frame.

I appreciate that the film won’t be for everyone but I just fell…
Review by Arielrocks5 ★★★★★ 78

Charlie Kaufman is a man who understands the idea of the human existence in a way that won't be fully be able to accepted among the rest of the world because we all believe that the idea of life is that we just simply have to make the most of it for our own needs and sometimes the needs of others. When in actuality life is a giant stage for us to preform the pain, happiness, laughter, sadness, and pure angry towards our own existence.

And the audience is in the distant future, waiting for our stories to be finished only to then fade into the rest of the unknown entity that is death who is the director and stage…
Review by DirkH ★★★★★ 30

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

This is Charlie Kaufman's crowning achievement. It is not only his best film to date, it is one of the best films I have ever seen.

I rarely come across films anymore that manage to ensnare me in a narrative so disjointed, yet so enthralling I cannot help but be absorbed by it wholly. This film stretches the medium to its limits in a non-obfuscating way that is refreshing, unique and despite the deep layers it possesses, accessible in so far that there is an appealing and universal truth at the surface of it all.

Creation is art is life.

Kaufman's story has to be a film. It was created purposefully for it and he understands the medium so well.…
Review by Lucy ★★★★★ 4

someone, eventually: why do u like this movie so much
me: i have depression
Review by Evan ★★★★★ 5

Synecdoche, New York is a film that must be experienced by everyone. If you have yet to see this movie, I suggest you stop what you're doing and watch it now. Philip Seymour Hoffman truly was one of, if not the best actor of this generation. You're presence will forever be missed, RIP.
Review by YI JIAN ★★★★★ 23

Get busy living, or get busy dying.

Weeks lost in one cut, years lost between scenes, lives lost in a blink of an eye. Time is slipping through our fingers. You may mind your own problems, sort your own miseries as if they are the only thing in this world worthy of your attention. You may play pretend; pretend you are a fairy, or an actor, or an actor playing an actor playing an actor. Set a daily routine for yourself as a distraction from the fact that we are all hurtling towards death. Still, before you know it, reality will catch up with you. You will suddenly wake up on what soon to be your own deathbed and realize…

Recent reviews

Review by Mimmi

that's so weird
Review by Alexis Gray

Death
Review by Samuel Potter ★★★½

I'm not really sure what to make of this. The score was beautiful. Maybe the most "meta" movie I've ever seen. Maybe, also, the most point-blank depressing movie I've ever seen. Philip Seymour Hoffman is amazing, as always. But I don't know if I'd choose to watch it again any time soon. Too much suffering.
Review by Renan Romero ★★★★★

Uma conversa íntima comigo mesmo foi proporcionada por esse filme. Charlie Kaufman é um gênio, o que fez aqui é juntar a emoção e o experimentalismo, criar algo totalmente ousado e, acima de tudo, extremamente tocante.
Review by Aldair Figueroa ★★★★

F

Calidad: 8.2
Gusto: 8.0
Review by butchcassidy ★½

pretentious and mindbogglingly boring
also I am certainly positive now that I hate PSH
Review by erika ★★★½

Death is such a scary thing. Personally I try to ignore it and hate when I think too deep about it. I’m not religious so it’s very very scary to think about how I might be nothing after this life. This movie really brought those thoughts out and didn’t necessarily make me feel good about the life I have right now. Such a confusing film; idk if I want to rewatch.
Review by Isabella Haack ★★★★½

Charlie Kaufmans mind, ugh it's so powerful
Review by Will Marshall ★★★★★

An über ambitious film about an über ambitious play and it somehow works out brilliantly.

A rollercoaster of emotions about a decaying man, exposed in every sense of the word. An absolute stunner of a performance by PSH. Kaufman’s finest display of his craft filled with unexplained bits of occurance and stark musings of life’s often broken-hearted nature.