At Long Last Synecdoche

Jul 24th, 2008 | By Rick | Category: News & Comment

Samantha Morton and Philip Seymour Hoffman

When I heard about the Cannes premiere of Synecdoche, New York, Charlie Kaufman’s directing debut, I wanted to see it, in spite of its mixed reviews. Finally, it looks like I’ll get the chance: according to Variety, it’s been picked up for distribution by Sony. Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as theater director Caden Cotard, who receives a MacArthur Genius grant and uses it to build a replica of New York City in a warehouse. He proceeds to populate it with actors, and as the years go by, the replica grows, and so do the troubles of Cotard. The film is reportedly filled with Kaufman’s trademark subjectivity and narrative playfulness. Given a cast that includes Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton and Dianne Wiest, and Kaufman’s track record of producing sophisticated, thought-provoking entertainments, I’ll be the first in line.