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Synecdoche, New York
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Synecdoche, New York

Synecdoche, New York

2008
Comedy, Drama
2h 4m
A theater director (Hoffman) struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play. (imdb)

Directed by:

Charlie Kaufman

Screenwriter:

Charlie Kaufman

Starring:

Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Emily Watson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener, Dianne Wiest, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Tim Guinee, Tom Noonan, Robin Weigert, Elizabeth Marvel

Genres:

Comedy, Drama

Country:

USA

Languages:

English, German
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Synecdoche, New York

2008
Comedy, Drama
2h 4m
Your probable score
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer
Avg Percentile 66.95% from 4575 total ratings
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

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spunkieSpunkie
Rated 08 Jun 2009
75
90th
As per usual Kaufman implodes. Watching Kaufman is no different than drug abuse. I watched, got depressed, inspired, bored, melancholic, angry and confused in potent doses. Side effects and flashbacks should start in about a day. Right now I'm trying to wash myself off of it.
Rated 08 Jun 2009
astrakhanastrakhan
Rated 27 Dec 2009
30
0th
Charlie Kaufman's head has disappeared so far up his own ass that it has re-emerged from his own mouth as a stinking, shit-smeared parody of itself. Evidently that was the inspiration for his latest movie, which is just awful, unintelligible, incoherent, meaningless drivel. One of the few films I have been unable to sit through to the end. Shades of the quirkiness that made BJM and Adaptation so good, but trying too hard, it vanishes into a puff of smoke that should set off anyone's BS detector.
Rated 27 Dec 2009
theficionadotheficionado
Rated 02 Dec 2008
100
97th
Replace the effervescence of 8 1/2 with a deeply unsettling melancholy, and this is what you get. At first, it seems a straightforward and surprisingly acerbic comedy, but, upon the onset of Caden's ambitious theater project, Synecdoche twists into a devastating, often surreal but, above all, intellectual contemplation of identity, mortality, and the role of art in life.
Rated 02 Dec 2008
davidkahaneDavidKahane
Rated 25 May 2009
36
14th
The film is a snake eating itself. More than that, it's a snake in a snake costume consuming the tail, uncertain if it's eating tail, costume, both, or if the distinction even matters. Whether it even matters is a whole other element. Kaufman has employed a foolproof methodology to make his film impervious to criticism. If the film is irredeemably messy, it is intentionally so, that messiness fully representative of the messiness of life, of art, of art rendering life, and life mirroring art.
Rated 25 May 2009
kmcneilKMcNeil
Rated 04 Jul 2009
10
98th
Melancholic catharsis. And one of the movies of the year. Kaufman reigns himself in during the first half only to out-Kaufman himself in the operatic, inter- and metatextual second with a story about love and loneliness, about being and nothingness, and - of course - about art. In blending the existential void of books like Auster's "Leviathan" and Camus' "The Stranger" with the artistic malcontent of Fellini's "8 1/2", Kaufman has crafted his most accomplished work. And that's quite a feat.
Rated 04 Jul 2009
vesupriavesupria
Rated 04 Jul 2010
4
32nd
There's definitely an overwhelming melancholy and irrational chaos about Kaufman's created worlds here... the concept is a rehash of Being John Malkovich. But I'm left feeling high and dry after this, the layered metaphors, and endless intertwining levels of existence and consciousness leave nothing but apathy. It's far too solipsistic, and self-engrossed, and for all it's pretentiousness what wisdom does it really share? Seems like very little for all its apparently complexity.
Rated 04 Jul 2010
skenkereSkenkere
Rated 01 Dec 2008
90
96th
Kaufman you beautiful bastard, you never cease to amaze me. Here, he's written a movie about the character of Caden Cotard, about you, me, shit, about everyone, about life. And despite its lengthy, unorthodox, confusing, sometimes repetitive, and borderline ridiculous nature, I truly think he's SUCEEDED. I need to watch this at least a couple more times, but it digs into you and steeps in your mind into something truly original and incredible. The monologues near the end are spine-tingling.
Rated 01 Dec 2008
djrossdjross
Rated 06 Feb 2010
91
98th
Ambitious attempt at a cinematic exploration of temporality. Frequently difficult to take, risking crossing the audience's threshold of tolerance for suffering, but for the most part absorbing and affecting. RE-WATCHED 1 August 2015: art, loneliness, disappointment, tragedy, stupidity, shame, decay, entropy, death. Really incredible and a masterpiece. Not only Philip Seymour Hoffman but Christopher Evan Welch already dead.
Rated 06 Feb 2010
tripwyreTripwyre
Rated 26 Mar 2009
100
99th
I didn't think Kaufman could top his past successes, but this man should not be doubted. He continually takes his familiar quirks and complexities in new directions, never more sprawlingly ambitious than here. The film is truly indescribable, but I will say this: it's very abstract, and it can be easy to get tangled up in the details, but if you can follow its ideas it's the most rewarding film of 2008. Caden's play is life, and the film is about each of us. Achingly funny and incredibly tragic.
Rated 26 Mar 2009
pickpocketPickpocket
Rated 28 Feb 2009
9
93rd
A depressing, beautiful, universal, amazing film. It's you, me, him, her, them, everyone. Kaufman is a genius and possibly a God.
Rated 28 Feb 2009
jebJeb
Rated 05 Jan 2009
94
85th
Kaufman has outdone himself. Synecdoche, New York is one hundred and fifty percent pure originality, and describing it's meaning and eloquentness is pointless to sum up in one small 500-word mini-review. Nothing can do it harm.
Rated 05 Jan 2009
bownBown
Rated 04 Aug 2019
100
99th
A brutally perceptive existential crisis of a movie that tackles the human spirit as well as any piece of fiction I’ve seen. As a horror movie about life’s regrets, it is more unsettling than any slasher, and as a comedy it’s aberbic and on-point. On top of this, it has career-best performances from many of the cast, astounding production design, and a spinning plates kind of tone, wobbling like hell but somehow never toppling over. I’m proud to call this masterpiece my favourite movie.
Rated 04 Aug 2019
mwgerbmwgerb
Rated 05 Sep 2010
55
52nd
This is definitely Kaufman at his most Kaufman; whether it is Kaufman at his best is a different matter. Even though this film is his most complex, as well as a great musing on meaning, regret, and death, he is also walking a continuously thinner tightrope of artistry above a pool of incoherent bullshit.
Rated 05 Sep 2010
cinemaasiaCinema_Asia
Rated 15 Jan 2010
55
19th
As much as I want to like this film it feels long, self indulgent, and ridiculously pretentious. Kaufman is a decent writer but he drops the ball on this one. The film's philosophical musings on life are something most people have contemplated at one point or another in grade school. There is no deep message here just a reflection of his own neurosis and sexual hangups which he thinks is fascinating stuff to put in an excessively stylized movie.
Rated 15 Jan 2010
omgfridgeomgfridge
Rated 14 Jan 2010
9
91st
Describing "Synecdoche, New York" is one severe task. How ideas like this are even conceived is a mystery to me. Scale wise this film is out of control, 50 odd years of life, a great initial cast which is constantly matched by the doppelgangers, a story that is idea upon idea and an unmatched dreamlike atmosphere. Charlie Kaufman's screenplay and vision shown in his direction is on an unknowable level of good.
Rated 14 Jan 2010
okkervilOkkervil
Rated 02 Aug 2009
91
97th
Describing this film is almost impossible. I have never seen anything like it. Surreal, funny, dark, thought provoking, existential, confusing, and heartbreakingly sad, and that is really just scratching the surface. It will take me many more viewings to take all of this film in. Breathtaking.
Rated 02 Aug 2009
barthalenBarthalen
Rated 22 Mar 2009
88
95th
How can one rate this? Is it brilliant, or pretentious? Is it a glorious failure, or a failed masterpiece? More than one viewing will be required, if I dare ride this saddening and complex roller coaster of life and loss again.
Rated 22 Mar 2009
evolutionEvolution
Rated 16 Mar 2009
91
96th
Synecdoche, New York is like the existential 8½, but nothing like this has been done so maybe the comparison is futile. Truly brilliant, also has room to grow.
Rated 16 Mar 2009
chemical404chemical404
Rated 15 Mar 2009
20
5th
This movie is like slow and painful suicide. For me it perfectly illustartes saying that original isn't necessarily good. On the other hand, I didn't like any film that Ch. Kaufman wrote, so maybe i just "don't get" him. My personal most boring film of '08 award winner.
Rated 15 Mar 2009
feublofeublo
Rated 17 Mar 2020
85
74th
There is a harsh and irrational truth about this film. The characters you find, all immerse in their particularity and how they choose to live life - it's unsettling and yet accurate with its measures of humanity. Brutal, funny, worth a revisit.
Rated 17 Mar 2020
hawkinsHawkins
Rated 27 Mar 2019
56
20th
The biggest picture and the tiniest violin.
Rated 27 Mar 2019
darrenDarren
Rated 23 Jan 2019
98
99th
My brother and I exited the theatre and it had just snowed and no one was on the street at all and it made me almost cry again. 10+ years later this time around I realized the masculine nature of the film. It's a very male centered view of creation of art and life, death and sex so it speaks to my peanut on that level. Haunting in the same way Lynch flicks are. Funny in the sardonic ironic heartbreaking ways of Keaton/Brooks/Allen/Hartley are I dunno.  I DIDN'T JUMP
Rated 23 Jan 2019
davidjohnsonDavidJohnson
Rated 27 Jan 2012
31
12th
The first 15 minutes were good, then it progressively got more purposefully convoluted, self important, pretentious and boring. It's like a David Lynch film, except replace creepy with deep, and entertaining with nothing. Kaufman really needs a talented director to make his scripts somewhat work. This is the first, and hopefully last film he directs.
Rated 27 Jan 2012
redactedredacted
Rated 19 Jul 2010
94
96th
Seymour Hoffman nails the hypochondriac/pseudo-philosopher/universal singularity, Kaufman is the hammer. Hurling all his thoughts into his directorial debut, 2 years on it's made 25% back on the original 20 million dollar budget. A figure reflective of how we don't want to face our inevitable demises held limp in our faces by Kaufman's boldest creation.
Rated 19 Jul 2010
freqflyerfreqflyer
Rated 31 Jul 2009
100
99th
What is it about this movie that I love so much? I asked myself this each of the three times I saw it, but I still can't quite put my finger on it. Perhaps it is the outstanding and all-too-human performances the entire cast turns in,the subtle chaos that everything seems to fall into as the movie progresses,or the fact that the movie takes the 'brutal truth' and turns it into something entertaining and slightly less frightening.
Rated 31 Jul 2009
fredericg54frederic_g54
Rated 12 Apr 2009
8
78th
Although striking in its originality and performances (especially Hoffman), I long for films written by Charlie Kaufman, not about Charlie Kaufman. Enigmatic without being egocentric. Demands a rewatch, perhaps.
Rated 12 Apr 2009
imnotlaughinimnotlaughin
Rated 09 Jan 2009
100
99th
I can honestly say that this film is far and away the most powerful piece I have ever experienced, without a trace of hyperbole. Where as other movies set out to entertain, Synecdoche aims to shed light on the human condition as it stands bare and ashamedly exposed. What follows is nothing short of transcendent, but profoundly humane. It succeeds not only in accurately portraying humanity's most intimate, innate hopes and fears, but it also occasions us to feel them passionately. A masterpiece.
Rated 09 Jan 2009
jackdurdenJackDurden
Rated 07 Dec 2008
7
46th
I feel that the scale Kaufman made this movie on wasn't fairly matched by it's main storyline. The writing and acting definitely make up for it, but next time I think Kaufman stick to just writing instead of also directing his works.
Rated 07 Dec 2008
gravymaximusGravyMaximus
Rated 30 Nov 2008
95
98th
One hundred percent Kaufman, uninhibited and unhampered. A beautiful, daunting masterpiece. Words do no justice.
Rated 30 Nov 2008
yiannosYiannos
Rated 15 Jul 2017
53
32nd
I very rarely call a film pretentious, but I think it applies here. Kaufman's dimestore existentialism reaches its nadir in Synecdoche New York, a story about a kind of loser who is a perpetual screw up that gets a grant and decides to build a monument to his own sad and pathetic life. Kaufman raises some interesting questions about the relationship between art and life, but he has little idea how to translate his engagement with temporality into compelling cinematographic form.
Rated 15 Jul 2017
jschlanskyJSchlansky
Rated 17 Nov 2014
100
99th
One of the best films ever made. The writing is absolutely mind blowing.
Rated 17 Nov 2014
1qw3er51qw3er5
Rated 14 Jan 2014
10
98th
It may be experience, or just preperation (but likely neither as I certainly didn't have much of either) but Kaufmann's dream world and sliced stories felt natural and personal; rather than esoteric and uninviting. The topics were far reaching and complex, but never seemed to stray from an encompassing viewpoint that made a feux-biopic play out more real than any biography could. I wish everyone could connect to the movie as it attached itself to me, even as existentially haunting as it became.
Rated 14 Jan 2014
sharpcoolsharpcool
Rated 15 Mar 2012
40
11th
A miserable man walks around being as miserable as humanly possible and breaks the Guinness World Record for misery.
Rated 15 Mar 2012
worstcasesceworstcasesce
Rated 04 Jan 2011
1
0th
Synecdoche, New York is one of those movies that illustrates why I don't like giving ratings. It may be a masterpiece, it may be trash. It doesn't sit somewhere in between, but somehow comfortably sits in both places at once. Simultaneously brilliant and hamfisted, this film is among the most ambitious and difficult I've ever seen. It's worth a watch, if only because there's nothing else like it. If this film happens to speak to you, you may find it incredible. Score is not a grade.
Rated 04 Jan 2011
rufamRufam
Rated 23 Sep 2010
65
42nd
"Synecdoche, New York" is a demonstration of megalomania. It occasionally works. It occasionally doesn't. Mostly, it doesn't. But when it does, it's good. It's very good, in fact. It can be interpreted both as a profound meditation on death and art as well as an incoherent, pretentious mess that drowns in its own ambition. I'm torn, but, finally, I have concluded that it's a little bit of both. Kaufman is a talented writer with occasional bursts of brilliance, but he certainly lacks restraint.
Rated 23 Sep 2010
msworddocmsworddoc
Rated 25 Mar 2010
90
93rd
man fails to get a grip for his entire life
Rated 25 Mar 2010
catscandalCatScandal
Rated 07 Mar 2010
59
69th
i find it hard to fault kaufman for stepping up his game and getting more disorienting, more postmodern, and more ambitious, but it really lacks the focus of his earlier work. i don't think it's possible to make a film about "everything", and i think it was a mistake to try. it is admirable, but i really feel he pulled an Inland Empire on this one.
Rated 07 Mar 2010
chiefgchiefg
Rated 07 Feb 2010
70
57th
Syndecdoche New York makes it very clear that a multitude of sittings is needed to take it all in, but my first gut reaction was one of dissapointment (after all the hype it got, seeing it named one of the most important movies of this decade and whatnot). This is, first and foremost, a filmcritic's film. Made, not to be seen, but dissected; not to be enjoyed, but digested. Should you give it a watch anyway? No doubt about it!
Rated 07 Feb 2010
boredomsboredoms
Rated 28 Jan 2010
35
9th
Surrealism for dummies. Oooh, a woman lives in a house that's perpetually on fire and it's NEVER EXPLAINED WHY!! How surreal. Additionally, the film lends further proof to my theory that any film containing an actual shot of a bowel movement in a toilet cannot, by definition, be any good.
Rated 28 Jan 2010
cagedwisdomcagedwisdom
Rated 08 Dec 2009
100
90th
Kaufman has outdone himself. Always he has lived on the border between fiction and reality - to the point where I suspect a prospective autobiography might be titled "Breaking the Fourth Wall: The Charlie Kaufman Story" - but this time it all comes together. Ideas about life, about death, about family, about friendship are all discussed in the telling of Cotard's life - for Cotard is every person. There is no point trying to sum up this movie here. See it for yourself, now.
Rated 08 Dec 2009
silverSilver
Rated 10 Jul 2009
8
89th
Ah, so that's how the great artists [Kaufman/Cotard] lose their minds? I'm not sure to what extent this pretentious jerking off is actually a deconstruction of his troubled mind, throwing the pieces at the audience to play with. Well, nice try in any case. Really hard to sit through, but a rewarding experience after all... Especially after the last mind-boggling, beautiful, sad 15 minutes with the best fade-to-white line of dialog in a long time.
Rated 10 Jul 2009
martintellerMartinTeller
Rated 14 Jun 2009
82
73rd
I'll admit: I didn't want to like this movie. I thought, "Oh, Charlie Kaufman... here you are again, trying SO HARD to be clever." And trying SO HARD to be profound, and trying SO HARD to be moving. And that is annoying, the transparency of it is annoying. But the thing is, he often does manage to be clever, profound, and moving. The film is a unfocused mess, but there is some "brutal truth" lurking in it. I'm not a huge P.S. Hoffman fan, but he does okay, and I really like the rest of the cast.
Rated 14 Jun 2009
filliganFilligan
Rated 01 Jun 2009
91
82nd
Kaufman's first directorial debut concerning life, death and everything in between is one of his best works to date. It's full of the man's genuine symbolism through weirdness, some of it obvious, some of it not so. But the best part is following Caden, portrayed marvelously by Hoffman, as his ambitious undertaking begins to smash, blend with reality, until I wasn't exactly sure what was what. All I knew was I couldn't look away. Best advice? See it twice.
Rated 01 Jun 2009
klausglenskiKlausGlenski
Rated 31 May 2009
85
89th
A wonderful idea for a screenplay which goes a tiny bit too far at time - for my taste. But still, an outstanding debut from Kaufman as a director. Synecdoche got numerous well developed characters, a wonderful setting and above all it got a Philip Seymour Hoffman who surpasses himself once again.
Rated 31 May 2009
ranaldRanald
Rated 18 May 2009
55
24th
Kaufman's absurdist sense of humour makes the early parts sing, but the momentum is not sustained and some of the latter half, particularly the speech making, is frankly boring. The self-pitying author-surrogate protagonist with a mid-life crisis and (unaccountably) lots of beautiful women who want to sleep with him is a tedious cliche that has no place in a movie that hinted at exploring more interesting things.
Rated 18 May 2009
florvdeFlorVdE
Rated 15 May 2009
5
98th
Kaufman's directorial debut is a masterpiece. I am extremely curious where he's going to go from here.
Rated 15 May 2009
muutanetmuutanet
Rated 25 Mar 2009
91
97th
Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut is something unexplainable. It's daring and it's difficult. And it's something you've never seen before. There is so many layers that it'll be unfair for it to put in words. It's full life spectre, surreal and still so touchingly realistic. It's a way of your mind would work. It's like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind but deeper and more serious. I'm speechless.
Rated 25 Mar 2009
caocaocaocao
Rated 20 Mar 2009
64
30th
Fantastic acting and some wonderful casting. Emily Watson playing Samantha Morton was particularly funny. I'll have to watch it again but it lacked any sort of cohesion that would of made it more entertaining. Maybe entertainment's not the point, I don't know.
Rated 20 Mar 2009
weirdyodaweirdyoda
Rated 24 Nov 2008
40
3rd
So fucking depressing and boring. Props to Kaufman of course though for originality, I just didn't enjoy watching it.
Rated 24 Nov 2008
mgm82mgm82
Rated 21 May 2024
70
22nd
Listen, I’m up for a good old Kaufman navel-gaze pretty much anytime. Just not this time. (20 extra points awarded to the brilliant thing I must be missing.)
Rated 21 May 2024
deaddillydeaddilly
Rated 25 Nov 2020
95
98th
A movie that will go over your head, about a man in over his head trying to create art about how we're all in over our head(s). The soaring pace and overwhelming scale this unravels at echoes the futility of the life experience itself - and Kaufman doesn't discriminate: The passionate artist plagued by neglect or the jaded worrier consumed by his pursuit of truth, it is made abundantly clear here what the only certainty is.
Rated 25 Nov 2020
k177105k177105
Rated 22 Dec 2019
94
89th
Fascinating though depressing. About continuous attempts to make sense of our own life in irreducible loneliness, and how such attempts are doomed to be always one step behind the flow of time and the passing of our life.
Rated 22 Dec 2019
lofisofilofisofi
Rated 24 Feb 2019
86
90th
beautiful deconstruction of masculinity and artistic creation
Rated 24 Feb 2019
taher_zeusTaher Zeus
Rated 30 Aug 2018
84
93rd
An incredible movie, with amazing screenplay and directing as well as quite believable acts. The first movie of screenwriting maestro Charlie Kaufman as a director. Although it seems to tell a theater set story, It is a show about the life itself, which shows how similar we as human beings can be, while playing each others' roles, and yet we have completely wrong perspectives of one another in our mind sometimes
Rated 30 Aug 2018
skapskap
Rated 04 Mar 2018
70
37th
I have had an unpleasant aftertaste after Kaufman's films before, but this one is a champion. It gets locked in its sick logic and becomes very annoying and even predictable in its own way. If I understand right, Kaufman despises all forms of art (at least in their present state), at least, it is hinted all over this movie. So watching his movie is like listening a preacher who despises God. Why staying in the business, if its so painful?
Rated 04 Mar 2018
saudadesaudade
Rated 29 Aug 2017
1
0th
This is what happens when you put boring and unpleasant in a blender.
Rated 29 Aug 2017
xakkmasterXakkMaster
Rated 26 Jul 2017
91
90th
Completely bonkers and often depressing, but also scattered with hilarious moments and brilliant dialogue. Exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for/expecting considering it's Kaufman and I was not disappointed.
Rated 26 Jul 2017
manwhonosemanwhonose
Rated 30 Dec 2016
97
92nd
Charlie Kaufman is one of the most original, innovative and interesting filmmakers working today. It's clear from his idiosyncratic body of work, like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Adaptation, that the man doesn't think like any other screenwriter, and he puts this beyond any doubt with Synecdoche, New York. It's a funny, moving film, that, I think, gives more of an insight into the working of the unique man's mind.
Rated 30 Dec 2016
ribcageribcage
Rated 14 Jul 2015
68
52nd
Loved the unhinged aspect and hoffmans performance. Lost me in the back half due to a combination of increasing lunacy and pretentiousness.. Plus i frankly can't relate to all that angst Im a happy content and pragmatic kind of fella
Rated 14 Jul 2015
lexlex
Rated 06 Feb 2015
95
91st
Why does everyone talk about every aspect of this movie except the movie itself? It is its own experience, the tragedy of the human mind, of all of us, and it's far from impenetrable (a suspect label for any work of art). This might be the saddest movie ever made.
Rated 06 Feb 2015
velvet_croweVelvet Crowe
Rated 01 Jan 2015
80
89th
It's a fantastic movie with many great ideas and has you thinking about some legitimately deep concepts. I also admire Kaufman's great attention to detail that help articulate the message of the movie and makes you admire the work more as you rewatch it. However, the movie can be at times incoherent and feels extremely convoluted upon a first viewing... you might even argue it's even pretentious at times. Regardless it's an ambitious film that succeeds in reflecting life itself.
Rated 01 Jan 2015
gnalkhereGnalkhere
Rated 16 May 2014
98
99th
should've called this Sadnecdoche, New York jesus
Rated 16 May 2014
lisa_iilisa-
Rated 19 Apr 2014
9
99th
time and death.
Rated 19 Apr 2014
maartenmaarten
Rated 04 Mar 2014
4
0th
As much as I like Philip Seymour Hoffman and Emily Watson (amongst others), this is a completely unwatchable mess. Torture.
Rated 04 Mar 2014
johnsandwichJohnSandwich
Rated 03 Apr 2013
70
63rd
I did like it a lot for the most part and probably underrating it, but it would be a lie to say i didn't lose interest the last half hour.
Rated 03 Apr 2013
qtpiqtpi
Rated 02 Mar 2013
10
99th
Charlie Kaufman is such a hack. His best scripts are about writing the script. How can laziness be so genius?
Rated 02 Mar 2013
glifosfatoglifosfato
Rated 08 Feb 2013
94
97th
it's a film about suffering, and it takes its subject seriously, through a beautiful and sad lens.
Rated 08 Feb 2013
scurryscurry
Rated 07 Oct 2012
85
97th
First of all the title is ridiculous. It should have been called "I Am So Fucking Sad" or simply "Solipsism: The Movie." Besides that, it is brilliant. If I have to name a minus it would be that I felt it dragged a little in the middle, albeit strictly in relative terms because it never gets close to bad.
Rated 07 Oct 2012
elmakebabielmakebabi
Rated 27 Aug 2012
77
81st
Fuck you Kaufman, amen!
Rated 27 Aug 2012
zissouzissou
Rated 10 Aug 2012
98
85th
May be my all time favorite movie. Charlie Kaufman is my favorite screenwriter and Philip-Seymour Hoffman is my favorite actor. I love the absurdity and the surreal atmosphere of the movie. Amazing writing and directing that just speaks to me personally really deeply. Phenomenal movie.
Rated 10 Aug 2012
3drevelation3dRevelation
Rated 10 Mar 2012
68
39th
I felt this merited a rewatch, but honestly I didn't like it much more the 2nd time around. The cast is pretty good, especially Hoffman, but Kaufman's debut is just way too overambitious for me. I felt like almost every scene of the film was supposed to have this underlying depth to it, but most of it never got translated to me. It ultimately comes off as an unfocused mess with a few thought provoking scenes intertwined.
Rated 10 Mar 2012
maakalmaakal
Rated 06 Jan 2012
80
75th
I would definitely need to see this again to get everything out of it. I'm not even sure I really "enjoyed" it the first time. But it's an undeniably compelling reflection on life and identity. How do we envision the story of our lives? Who are the people around us but actors in our own plays? These are thoughts we've all had, brilliantly brought to life by Kaufman.
Rated 06 Jan 2012
nobletNoblet
Rated 21 Dec 2011
84
81st
However well it works as a film is debatable, but I've never really watched anything quite like this before, and I enjoyed having that feeling. I'll see if I like it even more after I inevitably watch it again in the future.
Rated 21 Dec 2011
topaz024topaz024
Rated 07 Dec 2011
90
92nd
It's both horses*** and a masterpiece, all rolled into one. Just like life. Kaufman is one of the most vibrant voices in cinema. Well done, sir.
Rated 07 Dec 2011
hofschneiderHofschneider
Rated 05 Oct 2011
93
95th
"Life is precious, every minute, and more precious with this movie in it"
Rated 05 Oct 2011
dieguindieguin
Rated 12 Aug 2011
87
93rd
Beautiful and heartbreaking film about Loneliness and Life. Hoffman's is arguably the best performance of the century.
Rated 12 Aug 2011
afx237viafx237vi
Rated 07 Feb 2011
75
77th
Here is the meaning of life. Everything is pointless, everyone dies, and no matter how hard you try you will always end up disappointed and unfulfilled. You don't matter. You are a speck of nothingness in the infinite realms of an empty universe. The end. Man, this a depressing film. If there is any hope here, I must have blinked and missed it. That said, there is too much to decipher after just one viewing. Right now you could add or subtract 20 points from my ranking and I'd agree either way.
Rated 07 Feb 2011
armondwhiteArmondWhite
Rated 27 Dec 2010
1
0th
Pity those nerds and fashion-sheep who'll waste time trying to connect Kaufman's symbols, cite the many David Lynch references and puzzle for ways to use 'synecdoche' in daily conversation.
Rated 27 Dec 2010
bowfingerbowfinger
Rated 11 Dec 2010
75
76th
really mixed about this one. I love the originality and everything else that comes with that, but the sheer experience of enjoying the film was not there for me. I found myself struggling to like the movie, like trying to accept/love your brother for who he is despite all of his shortcomings.
Rated 11 Dec 2010
kingjohnbbqKingjohnbbq
Rated 31 Oct 2010
30
3rd
if you want a movie that is REALLY reaching for something, but always misses it due to the convoluted seemingly pointless storylines, then have fun with this one. I love hoffman but this movie is atrocious. Its Characters are interesting. that is the only redeeming part of the film. the characters are strange and you want to see what happens but none of it matters as the storylines are so hard to follow.
Rated 31 Oct 2010
hellboy76hellboy76
Rated 20 Sep 2010
69
73rd
Confusing jumble of obsessiveness, humor, and obsurdity. I wasn't really sure if I liked it or hated it but I know it was well made. I need to watch this again.
Rated 20 Sep 2010
lunheurlunheur
Rated 04 Sep 2010
50
27th
This movie had some really good ideas but it just got lost in itself. Which I guess is the point of the movie.
Rated 04 Sep 2010
neonmanNeonman
Rated 29 Aug 2010
94
97th
Charlie Kaufman throws everything he knows and feels into the blender and turns it on without putting on the top. The mess that is this debut film's is either it's strength or weakness, depending on who you talk to you. For me, Kaufman realises that to recreate life in art, it has to be messy, and confusing, and aggravating. I love this film, I hate this film, I am this film, it'll probably stick around with me for some time, but you can never be too young to ponder your own demise.
Rated 29 Aug 2010
funkyastroFunkyAstro
Rated 11 Jul 2010
95
97th
art and philosophy are like time and space all as pointless as a run on sentence
Rated 11 Jul 2010
anselmi86Anselmi86
Rated 10 Jul 2010
82
75th
It's too easy to use the metaphor of the Russian nesting doll in regards to this film's content, but I will anyway. It easily feels longer and more exhausting than any other 2 hour film I have ever seen. All in all, Kaufman tried to make too much film with far too much material and he pays for it. That being said, there is something really quite magical going on here, compelling, saddening and absolutely mind-blowing. Hoffman is also now literally in a class of his own. No one can touch him.
Rated 10 Jul 2010
andaybandayb
Rated 31 May 2010
80
91st
a bergsonian nightmare where borges tells the story and jung puts down the rules. yes, it's self indulgent and somewhat a mental masturbation just like the previous sentence, but you can't help but admire Kaufman's audacity, the sheer scope, and the embroidery of the script. I rate this a 100 in a paralel reality, 0 in an another universe, ln(infinite) in sometime in the past, and pi squared in the future. The recursive is out to get me.
Rated 31 May 2010
andreasthauAndreasThau
Rated 11 May 2010
85
85th
I found this to be a very beautiful and extremely funny film. To begin with, Philip S. H. is just fantastic as always. Boy, what an actor he's become. But then I was also dazzled by the aestethics and rare insanity of the whole show. The subjectivity of the film highly engaged me as a viewer. Great to see good, modern art films where you're left wondering what the small things mean during the whole film. And in spite of the uncertainties it still affected you. Great film!
Rated 11 May 2010
fredfunk04fredfunk04
Rated 21 Mar 2010
94
98th
Charlie Kaufman you are my hero!
Rated 21 Mar 2010
whatismynamewhatismyname
Rated 05 Feb 2010
45
8th
Too abstract for me. Just put a whole bunch of shit together and you have this. First 30 minutes were decent, giving me hope of a unique film, just didn't expect it to be this unique.
Rated 05 Feb 2010
kasperlKasperL
Rated 19 Jan 2010
80
86th
Flawed masterpiece or a mess with moments of brilliance? For me, the scene wherein Caden meets up with Hazel, years having passed him by, ties with the montage in 'Up' as the most poignant scene of 2009. Kaufman invites us on a trip into his world of existential fear of both death and life, and - like with Caden's life-long project - he seems determined not to set boundaries for his story. A few ideas are truly horrendous (burning house, german accents), some very funny ("We all have tatoos!").
Rated 19 Jan 2010
syvyyssyvyys
Rated 16 Nov 2009
73
31st
starts of really great, but gets annoyingly repetitive and noncredible (in its incredibility) during the last 30 minutes. and by the way: DON'T BE SO LACHRYMOSE ALL THE TIME MISTER KAUFMAN.
Rated 16 Nov 2009
psimpsim
Rated 24 Aug 2009
87
95th
Strange and strangely moving, this film goes places you would never imagine after the first 20 minutes. It is hard to describe the experience of seeing this film.
Rated 24 Aug 2009
bmuniseBmunise
Rated 22 Jul 2009
97
91st
The best response to 8 1/2 that's been made. It goes beyond just a simple retelling, it adds to the artistic conversation.
Rated 22 Jul 2009
lawrencelawrence
Rated 09 Jun 2009
50
6th
Ugh.
Rated 09 Jun 2009
sommssomms
Rated 30 May 2009
90
97th
Forget about the specifics, just enjoy the ride.
Rated 30 May 2009
abunchofcatsABUNCHOFCATS
Rated 30 May 2009
97
98th
I'm still not entirely sure what happens but this is without a doubt one of the most imaginative, enthralling and beautiful films I have ever seen. Such brilliant writing with such amazing performances that all perfectly fit the film. No doubt a film I will keep coming back to.
Rated 30 May 2009
adoomoot3a_doomoot3
Rated 28 May 2009
100
97th
The first movie in years that could seriously be mentioned in a discussion of the greatest movies ever made.
Rated 28 May 2009
dorkovskyDorkovsky
Rated 22 May 2009
10
99th
8 1/2 meets M. C. Escher. Calling this rewatchable is an understatement, I would recommend first-time viewers try to make time for the "4-hour version". It is better the second time.
Rated 22 May 2009
lpelliottlpelliott
Rated 19 May 2009
87
75th
This is a movie apart from most others. Don't expect something you have even remotely seen before. It is more like literature than a movie, and i think the difference is what kept it from being entirely successful. This movie is an interpretive, symbol-laden, and poignant exploration that pushes the viewer to forget what they know and to stop trying to find coherent plot in this self-aware mess that Kaufman has created--just enjoy the brilliance.
Rated 19 May 2009
prowlerprowler
Rated 05 Apr 2009
93
96th
a theatre director looks for truth, by investing himself and then letting go.. a remarkable film, to be seen more than once. caden, all his characters, his play, the film - all are synecdoches, ultimately for any and all of our lives. ya, so i learned a new word :P
Rated 05 Apr 2009

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