Synecdoche, New York (2008)
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A theater director's commitment to a massive, realistic stage production begins to blur the boundaries between his art and his reality.
The story
Theater director Caden Cotard faces a crumbling personal life, marked by mysterious physical ailments and the departure of his artist wife, Adele. Following the success of a production, Caden receives a grant that allows him to pursue a massive, ambitious theatrical project. He moves into a vast warehouse in Manhattan's Theater District to create a play of brutal realism that will span years. As he directs an ensemble cast to live out their roles in real time, the scale of the production grows, and the physical boundaries of the warehouse begin to mirror the city outside, while Caden struggles to navigate his personal crises amidst the expanding set.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Caden Cotard, a theater director suffering from physical ailments, creates a massive, realistic play in a Manhattan warehouse after his wife Adele leaves him. The production becomes increasingly elaborate, with Caden and his cast inhabiting a world that mirrors reality. He marries a cast member, Claire, and faces the deterioration of his health while the warehouse expands to mimic the city. The line between the play and reality blurs as he employs doppelgängers and faces various personal tragedies, including the death of his friends and the discovery of his daughter's life in Berlin. Eventually, Caden is 'hired' by an actress playing a housekeeper to take over his role as director, allowing him to live out his days as a servant in a crumbling set. The film ends with an elderly Caden wandering through a series of nested warehouses, eventually dying in a state of confusion as to where his life ends and the play begins.
- First release year
- 2008
- Runtime (minutes)
- 123
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Charlie Kaufman
- Writers
- Charlie Kaufman · writer
- Cast and characters
- Philip Seymour Hoffman · Caden Cotard; Samantha Morton · Adele; Michelle Williams · Hazel; Catherine Keener · Claire; Emily Watson · Olive; Dianne Wiest · Ellen; Jennifer Jason Leigh · mother of Olive; Hope Davis · mother of Caden
- Genres
- drama; comedy-drama
- Themes
- the blurring of fiction and reality; death and decay; identity and doppelgängers; the relationship between art and life
- Tone and mood
- psychological; absurdist; somber
- Premise and plot tags
- meta-fiction; multiverse-like layers; existential crisis
- Content notes
- death
- Reception
- The film polarized critics, with some calling it pretentious and others hailing it as a masterpiece. It has been featured in several 'best of' lists for the 21st century.
- Awards and nominations
- Gotham Independent Film Award · Best Feature · 2008 · Nomination; Gotham Independent Film Award · Best Ensemble Performance · 2008 · Win; Visual Effects Society Award · Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture · 2008 · Nomination; Visual Effects Society Award · Outstanding Matte Paintings in a Feature Motion Picture · 2008 · Nomination; Visual Effects Society Award · Outstanding Created Environment in a Feature Motion Picture · 2008 · Nomination; Cannes Film Festival · Palme d'Or · 2008 · Nomination; Cannes Film Festival · Golden Camera · 2008 · Nomination
- Production trivia
- The title is a play on Schenectady, New York.; The film's production was complicated by the Great Recession.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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