Originally Posted by LSPoorEeyorick
Synecdoche, NY
I'm a big fan of Charlie Kaufman, so I was excited to hear he was going to try his hand at directing. We'd get The Full Kaufman Experience!
As it turns out, we may not actually want the Full Kaufman Experience.
Synecdoche is the unfurling of a dream state. Or a descent into madness. Or an abstract metaphor of the devolution of the human body. Possibly all three. Possibly none.
Like a Derren film, or a Lynch one, I think you're meant to sit back and let it absorb into your pores, into your brain, into your consciousness. And so I didn't spend too much time trying to discern exactly what was happening. (I really don't think it's the point, and moreso, I don't even think it's possible.) I just let it float over me, and into me. And that experience was the bleakest, most uncomfortable one I've ever had in a movie theater. It bores into all of the least-appealing parts of humanity. And so many of them are universal. That, or Kaufman and I have the same insecurities and nightmares.
It is a horrible film. Not that the performances were bad, or anything in particular. In fact, I can't be certain, but I think it really was quite remarkable. What I mean is that it is marked by the arousal of horror. And not in an "eek, the killer is right behind you!" kind of way. In a way that says slowly, clearly, and unequivocally: everything in this life is ****, and you're never going to make of yourself what you want to. And quite honestly, it may be the truth, but I really don't need to hear it if I'm going to live a life of anything aside from self-centered regret.
Should you see it? That's an excellent question, and I don't have the answer for you. Is it brilliant? Quite possibly. Are you up for it? You might be. And then again, you really, really, really might not be.
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