Synecdoche, New York Poster
67
metacriticBased on 34 Critics
79
Based on 243 Users

Release Date: October 24th, 2008

DVD Release Date: March 10th, 2009

R|2 hr 4 min

Plot Summary
Life is looking pretty bleak for theater director Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman). His wife and daughter have left him, his therapist is more interested in plugging her new book than helping him with his problems, and a strange disease is causing his body to shut down. Caden leaves his home in Schenectady, New York, and heads to New York City, where he gathers a cast of actors and tells them to live their lives within the constructs of a mock-up of the city.

Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hope Davis

Director: Charlie Kaufman

Genres: Comedy drama

Distributors: Sony Pictures Classics

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  • 63
    Carrie RickeyPhiladelphia Inquirer

    In Synecdoche, Kaufman the screenwriter is not well-served by Kaufman the filmmaker. As a director, his propensity for heavyosity leadens rather than leavens this affair. show more

  • 80
    Bob MondelloNPR

    Synecdoche, New York is one heck of a head-trip. show more

  • 70
    Ray BennettThe Hollywood Reporter

    Will mesmerize some and mystify others, while many will be bored silly. It's not a dream, Kaufman says, but it has a dreamlike quality, and those won over by its otherworldly jigsaw puzzle of duplicated characters, multiple environments and shifting time frames will dissect it endlessly. show more

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