Synecdoche, New York

Synecdoche: ("si-nek-duh-kee") a part of something that is used to refer to the whole thing, or vice versa, such as "His parents bought him a new set of wheels [car]." or "Michigan [the government of Michigan] just passed a law addressing this problem.".  Here, "set of wheels" is used to denote the entire car and "Michigan" is used to denote only the state's elected officials.  All this information was gathered thanks to the questionably sourced folks over at Wikipedia.

So, with the mysteries of the title cleared up, what is the film about?  The film is about life and the grand structure of things, about that unclenchable sadness that lurks beneath the surface of every face because we are all marching towards our deaths.  It's about tiny victories and larger, unseen failures.  About things we lose and things we cling to, about the way people come and go and the ways we see their actions through a funnel that projects mostly just ourselves out onto the universe.  It's about mortality and ambition and desire.

It's about life and all the things that make us human.  It is a whimsical fantasy, a deep and true emotional drama, a masterpiece.  I fully expect this to emerge as the best film of the year.

It is, I think, Charlie Kaufman's best film, and also, possibly, his most personal-- here he directs for the first time, as opposed to simply scripting.  It isn't as willfully quirky as Adaptation or Being John Malkovich, dosn't have any unnecessary subplots like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind... everything here adds to the effect, creates an alternate reality that is fantastical and mundane simultaneously.  

This is quite a film... three times in the first half I found myself overwhelmed emotionally by what was on the screen.  After the showing, I went for a long, contemplative, aimless walk.

A great deal of praise must go to the actors:  Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Dianne West-- not a bad actor in the bunch and not an off-key performance in the film.  Yes, the actors are great, but this is Kaufman's show.

He's made a film about death-- as all life is essentially about death.  If you didn't know you were going to die, how would you know you were alive?  I find myself at a loss.  Describing the film is like describing rain, or wind, or music.  The essence is elusive and everything panders down into worthless philosophizing.  I look back over what I've written and realize that this will fail to make anyone want to see the film.  But, seriously, see this film.  It's a spiritual experience.

This film is unbearable and beautiful and deeply sad and absolutely wonderful.  Life's like that.