Synecdoche, New York (2008)
72%RT Audience Score: 71%
Awards & Nominations: 8 wins & 29 nominations
Charlie Kaufman’s ambitious directorial debut occasionally strains to connect, but ultimately provides fascinating insight into a writer’s mind
If you’re looking for a movie that will make you feel like you’re on a wild ride, then Synecdoche, New York is the one for you. With its bold and bizarre plot, you’ll be left feeling utterly baffled, but in the best way possible. Kaufman’s unorthodox script and real panache in shooting make this movie a true masterpiece. Sure, it may be a bit depressing, but it’s also hilarious and brilliant. Just be prepared to have your mind blown.
Production Company(ies)
Paramount Pictures, Dreamworks Pictures, Amblin Entertainment,
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Schenectady, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language and some sexual content/nudity
Year of Release
2009
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital DTS
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:2h 4m
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Language(s):English, German
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 24, 2008 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 10, 2009
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, directed by Charlie Kaufman, written by Charlie Kaufman, Comedy/Drama, R-rated, box office gross $3.1M, reviewed by Joshua Rothkopf, Tim Robey, Cosmo Landesman, Jonathan Romney, Derek Malcolm, Dave Calhoun, Taylor Baker, Dustin Chang, Mike Massie, Jason Best, Richard Propes, Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze, Sony Pictures Classics
Worldwide gross: $4,658,401
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $6,438,426
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,100
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 702,118
US/Canada gross: $3,083,538
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $4,261,791
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,849
US/Canada opening weekend: $172,194
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $237,991
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,603
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $20,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $27,642,214
Production budget ranking: 1,192
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $14,885,332
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$36,089,121
ROI to date (est.): -85%
ROI ranking: 1,920
Samantha Morton – Hazal
Michelle Williams – Claire Keen
Catherine Keener – Adele Lack
Emily Watson – Tammy
Dianne Wiest – Ellen Bascomb/Millicent Weems
Director – Charlie Kaufman
Producer – Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze
Writer – Charlie Kaufman
Director(s)
Charlie Kaufman
Writer(s)
Charlie Kaufman
Producer(s)
Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze
Film Festivals
Venice
Awards & Nominations
8 wins & 29 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (194) | Top Critics (64) | Fresh (134) | Rotten (60)
November 17, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Kaufman, who once dazzled us with his japester’s invention, uses those same tools to do something else here. He leaves us reeling.
May 17, 2009 | Rating: 5/5
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
This is a classic Kaufmanesque work: bold, bizarre and utterly baffling.
May 17, 2009 | Rating: 3/5
Cosmo Landesman
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Synecdoche, New York finally feels bitter, hollow and adolescent: like a gargantuan music video conceived for an emo band with a penchant for Pirandello.
May 17, 2009
Jonathan Romney
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Synecdoche (pronounced Sih-neck-doh-kee, by the way) is beautifully acted throughout, scripted by Kaufman with the same valorous unorthodoxy as his Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and shot with real panache.
May 15, 2009 | Rating: 3/5
Derek Malcolm
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
Somehow, because it resists unlocking, it feels more serious, troubling, significant. It’s as funny as it’s depressing. It’s as brilliant as it is baffling.
May 15, 2009 | Rating: 5/6
Dave Calhoun
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Episode 43: The New World / Synecdoche, New York / L’Avventura
October 4, 2021 | Rating: 96/100
Taylor Baker
Drink in the Movies
Kaufman touches upon universal theme of loneliness and melancholy through the eyes of an obsessive artist who builds a replica of life on stage within the replica, within the replica, within the replica… with depth and intimacy.
March 24, 2021
Dustin Chang
Floating World
Unveils many interesting ideas, but the purpose of the film is so rooted amongst ambitious creative chaos that few will understand – or care about – its intentions.
November 28, 2020 | Rating: 4/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
If you engage with the movie on its own terms then even its oddest, most surreal conceits – such as the home that is permanently on fire – make a weird kind of sense.
November 22, 2020
Jason Best
Movie Talk
Synecdoche, New York is for those who are true cineastes, connoisseurs of cinema who seek more than easy answers, paint-by-number plots and happy endings.
September 24, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
Insufferable auteurist navel-gazing, its “postmodernism” all empty gimmickry to hide an utterly hollow center…
September 15, 2020
Dennis Harvey
48 Hills…
Plot
A theater director’s life falls apart as he struggles with a strange disease and personal problems, leading him to create a mock-up of New York City and gather a cast of actors to live their lives within it in Synecdoche, New York.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The performances in Synecdoche, New York are described as “amazing” by an audience reviewer.
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