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Showing all 22 reviews...
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I'm a big fan of Philip Seymour Hoffman. I also enjoyed Kaufman's past work. The synopsis of this film intrigued me and so I gave it a shot. I figured, it's got Hoffman in it, how bad could it be? It wasn't until almost 3/4 into the film that I grasped the point of this movie but up to and beyond, I was thoroughly entertained! It had some hilarious moments in it and it was so absurd throughout. Hoffman was perfect for the part! And my hat goes to Kaufman and the crew for achieving such a juggernaut of a film. Wow! That said, I can understand how some people got put off by this film, especially those who saw it in the theater. Seeing complicated movies is never a good choice for the big screen I think. You're better off watching it a home lying on your couch. Some people described it as being Hollywood trying to be artsy fartsy. I couldn't disagree more. I hate artsy fartsy films with a passion, especially those coming from Hollywood. You can usually see right through them. This movie is anything but. It's a genuine, imaginative and incredibly clever exploration into a man's topsy-turvy life and his desire to create the greatest play ever made, all seen through Kaufman's eyes. I'm seeing this one again!
8/10
30.3.2009 -
vorpaljim@ - age: 36-49
Wow. I was hoping for good, given Eternal Sunshine et al. But this was complete crap. I looked around the theatre to gauge who it was geared towards and all parties seemed disinterested or drunk. I've not walked out of a movie before but I had to leave my partner and go for a walk - shockingly didn't miss anything. To those trying to justify this as veiled brilliance or a catchy assault on mainstream forget about it. This was mainstream trying to become artsy and hip, leaving it to wanting dialogue and wanting script. Look up the meaning of the movie's title, for it will tell you what they were attempting and you could create your own interpretation of said meaning. Capital GARBAGE.
2/10
24.1.2009 -
dnagel75@ - age: 26-35
If you expect a comedy (because it's not a comedy in the mainstream sense of meaning) or a light, easy-to-grasp, story-telling drama; this is definitely not what you would like to watch, not to mention it's a rather lengthy film! But for those who want to see the depth of human's complicated mind and abilities; it's a must-see! And it IS a master-piece as a film, because who can fit this intellectual view-point into a 2-hour-long movie better than this?
10/10
19.12.2008 -
prashtukm@ - age: 36-49
Classic kauffman, operating on multiple levels of brilliance.
10/10
19.12.2008 -
caminbc@ - age: 36-49
Brilliant. Not a film to understand all necessarily as it unfolds. Speaks for itself as well upon reflection as time reveals greater depths and subtleties.
10/10
14.12.2008 -
h,garrod@ - age: 50+
The content of Mr. Kaufman's head is a sad nightmare. Although visually stunning, to put on film such negativity, fear and self pity that has absolutely no use for humanity is a waste of millions and spreads unnecessary horror unto a world in great need of the exact opposite.
2/10
10.12.2008 -
alkalain@ - age: 36-49
So Charlie Kaufman directs this one and it is similar in theme to his earlier work as a writer (Being John Malkovitch, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine) but on a grander scale. Hoffman and the cast do great work but are overshadowed by the imaginative structure. A delight.
9/10
1.12.2008 -
bobkamino@
We were three bright women over 60. Lovers of Seymour Hoffman's work. Who on earth persuaded him to take part in this mixed-up, badly edited, confusing story. Yes, we talked about it all the way home but only to say "Why had we not walked out of the cinema after twenty minutes."
2/10
28.11.2008 -
pamelaford@ - age: 50+
Must see. And then discuss - it's so interesting.
9/10
28.11.2008 -
metawill@ - age: 18-25
Went with another couple and sat through it wondering why it had been given such rave reviews. Between the four of us we couldn't figure out why on earth the film was produced! The cast has much talent but the film was far too odd. There are much better ways of conveying ones thoughts on screen... it was certainly the never-ending movie and now ranks as our worst ever seen!
1/10
27.11.2008 -
kcameleaf@ - age: 36-49
Charlie Kaufman is a genius. This is philosophy on film. Simple yet complex. And some truly funny moments. Just be prepared, it's also a "heavy", emotional film, so you might feel a bit like you've been hit by a brick. Not the "feel good movie of the year" by any stretch, but definitely the "think good movie of the year."
10/10
26.11.2008 -
josephinebo@ - age: 36-49
This movie is visually stunning, thoughtful and challenging. Don't see it if you're looking for an easy night out but do see it if your looking for something thought provoking and fresh. It's storytelling in a way we have probably never seen on film before.
9/10
23.11.2008 -
kateandpercy@ - age: 36-49
You gotta see this movie! It gives you a thought about illness, death, love, loneliness, loss, sex, and stupidity of our lives in a very realistic way. Somewhat difficult to grasp ubiquitous meaning, but it's a must.
10/10
22.11.2008 -
bildungsroman2012@ - age: 26-35
Wonderfully melancholy. Connects to something that's hard to even articulate.
10/10
22.11.2008 -
joecorp@ - age: 18-25
Grotesque, self-absorbed, narcissistic, angst-ridden drivel. This film is such a stinker, go and see it if you enjoy Philip Seymour Hoffman bastardize his talent in an orgy of futility. Better yet, just stay at home huddled in a corner, suck your thumb and rage at the meaninglessness of life. I can't remember when I last spent such a waste of time -- layer upon layer of convoluted weltschmerz. Boy, do these people ever need to learn how to meditate.
3/10
22.11.2008 -
iispiral@ - age: 50+
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Bizarre film. I'm a fairly bright guy. I just couldn't figure out why I was watching it, why I should care. I wished we'd followed the wife off to Berlin for a more interesting multi-layered story of life than staying behind with the husband in a world of painful deterioration. Go if you're ready for a puzzler. Otherwise, see James Bond.
4/10
21.11.2008 -
jryvr1@ - age: 36-49
Kaufman pushed it further than I thought possible with this film. I feel like one viewing of this movie is not sufficient to appreciate it for its real value and therefore plan to purchase it. I also found very interesting the review posted by NOXEROX. Quite insightful.
10/10
18.11.2008 -
pathethik@ - age: 26-35
Usually we go to movies to escape life... sometimes we go to experience it. This is the latter. If you want escape, don't see this one. If you want clear story structure, don't see it. Real life invariably doesn't work that way. A movie about human life.
8/10
17.11.2008 -
mailwasher@ - age: 36-49
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[ATTENTION: This review reveals content of the movie.]
A synecdoche (pronounced sin-eck-doh-key) is a figure of speech in which a part of something is meant to represent the whole thing. The movie takes place in Scenectidie, NY, so even the title itself is a synecdoche. The three-word title represents a two-hour movie, about a play that lasts 17 years, which represents an entire lifetime. Still with me? It gets better, I promise. This movie is the directorial debut for Charlie Kaufman, best known as the genius screenwriter of movies like Adaptation, Being John Malkovich, and Sunshine of the Eternal Mind. All of those films are studies of the creative impulse -- or being and nothingness -- two states which turn out to represent the two types of responses that viewers will have to this movie. Some, like me, will love it and want to see it five times in order to peel back the layers. Others will be confused and frustrated and will have "two minds" about it. Life's like that -- a real synecdoche. In the movie, community theatre director Caden Cotard (played masterfully by Philip Seymour Hoffman) is making a play about life—not just one part of life, but everything in life. Such a project is impossible, of course, but Caden keeps expanding the theatre set from warehouse to warehouse, adding more scenes and plotlines and thousands of actors, until his play is "larger than life". He builds a replica of his world line by line, actor by actor, until fiction and non-fiction blur. Some of the characters even have doubles that follow them around (just as each of us have our real self and our idealized self) Screenwriter Kaufman loves to give us brain-teasers that demand our minds to figure out the puzzle. In this film, he delivers that in spades. Among many other things, this movie is about the search for an authentic self in an phony world. Caden's representation takes on the dimensions of reality to the point of replacing it. So even if if he has success with his play, such success may not be so attainable in his "real" world. This represents what you and I do inside our own lives every day. We try to operate in two theatres simultaneously - one inside our minds and one outside. We project roles onto the people around us (the "actors" in "our story"), without considering that they too are casting everyone around them, including us, into diferent roles in their own "life story". So none of us get the lives we were hoping to get... because "our cast members" keep jumping "out of character". This movie captures the essense of what Seinfeld's hapless sidekick, George Kastanza, described as "worlds colliding" when he found out that his girlfriend, Susan, had become pals with his buddy, Elaine Bennis. This is not just a remarkable movie. It may actually redefine visual story-telling as an art form.
10/10
16.11.2008 -
noxerox@ - age: 36-49
The seemingly complex plot may have you wondering at some point. My advice is to surrender to a moment by moment viewing experience.
9/10
15.11.2008 -
castingcall2008@ - age: 36-49
Whoever classified this movie as a comedy is seriously misleading movie-goers. Yes, there are comedic moments, but overall, it's a tragedy: a portrait of a depressed and either legitimately ill or hypochodriacal director who's so self-absorbed and miserable, he's incapable of living his own life. It'll definitely have you talking about it all the way home, trying to decipher what was real and what wasn't, and it's always a treat to watch Philip Seymour Hoffman and the other terrific actors in the film, but if you're going to it expecting a comedy, be forewarned that it's anything but. Thought-provoking, yes. Engaging, yes. Laugh-out-loud funny, definitely not.
7/10
9.11.2008 -
libby,lucas@ - age: 50+
We went to this movie with such high hopes: acclaimed actors headed by Philip Seymour Hoffman--how could it not be great!? And it was, for the first twenty minutes. Then the whole thing deteriorated. I am not sure why Hoffman agreed to take this on. It is about life and dying--great themes, true. But the symbolism, the dialogue, the action for the greater part of the movie did not hold together and it was agony watching the rest. We just wanted to leave but were glued to our seats, hoping for a redemption that never came. Each plot development after the first twenty minutes seemed like an afterthought--without the thought. A sense of bleakness pervaded the whole movie and with regard to the plot, randomness prevailed: existential angst. We were so disappointed. I Hope that someone else saw more in this movie as these are wonderful actors.
3/10
9.11.2008 -
kareneberdt@ - age: 50+
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