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demonic 
"Cinemaniac"
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 Posted - 05/14/2009 : 13:48:39
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Synecdoche, New York
I've been very much in two minds about starting this thread - I saw Charlie Kaufman's latest work (his first as a director) a couple of weekend's ago at a preview and was totally bowled over by it. My hesitation is that for a film that I adored I know that there will be people who will loathe it as much as I loved it, and I'm not sure that I want to read negative comments about it! It will obviously not be for everyone - however, if I can encourage people to see it I guess it's worth the potential pain of dissent.
In brief a hypochondriac theatre director's (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) life begins to unravel when his wife and daughter leave him. He is awarded a large grant to put on a major work and decides to stage his life in an enormous warehouse that recreates an entire New York block, hiring actors to play himself and the people he interacts with, and before long the lines of life and theatre blur.
If you weren't annoyed by the quirkiness of "Being John Malkovich", confused by the structure of "Eternal Sunshine" or baffled by the violent tone shifts and self-obsession of "Adaptation" this is obviously a film for you. It needs some concentration, particularly as the borders of artifice and reality get more and more tightly packed in the last hour, but it's an incredible screenplay - smart, funny, brave and bizarre; it's fantastically acted (Catherine Keener, Tom Noonan, Dianne Wiest, Michelle Williams - all brilliant, as well as Samantha Morton and Emily Watson who share a genius in-joke about their interchangability in film), as well as being a great satire of the artistic temperament and study of very human fears of failure and death.
Also it's the most uplifting and energising, while simultaneously depressing, film I can recall. I walked out of the cinema thrilled and buzzing - a wonderful feeling for an increasingly jaded filmgoer this year. If you're interested in film beyond the mainstream and want to see how far film can go you must see it. |
Edited by - demonic on 05/14/2009 13:52:05 |
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chazbo 
"Outta This Fuckin' Place"
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Posted - 05/14/2009 : 15:24:57
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No negative comments here.
It's definitely one of the two best films I've seen recently, the other being the Czech film I Served the King of England (though obviously I don't see many movies these days).
I agree that it is uplifting and downbeat at the same time. It didn't leave me feeling depressed at all, and I quite liked how it ended. A fitting coda.
And Philip Seymour Hoffman is outstanding, as you might expect.
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BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
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randall
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 05/22/2009 : 22:20:39
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| Is Charley Kaufman really that smart? |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 05/26/2009 : 18:41:29
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| I thought it was excellent, although it was certainly tough going and I'd have to see it again to see whether the middle third really pulls its fair share. |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 06/07/2009 : 05:05:18
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| Does this film fit either or both of these accolades? |
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damalc 
"last watched: Sausage Party"
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Posted - 06/18/2009 : 16:53:44
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pretentious, confusing and complicated.
but damn moving. probably deserves another viewing, but i don't know if i feel like working that hard again. |
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Synecdoche, New York
