' ' Cinema Romantico: Synecdoche, New York

Monday, November 10, 2008

Synecdoche, New York

This will not be a review of a acclaimed writer Charlie Kaufman's ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", "Being John Malkovich") directorial debut. I will not indicate that Phillip Seymour Hoffmann portrays a theater director in New York and is dying, or maybe just thinks he is dying, and earns a lucrative grant that allows him to stage a play of cosmically epic proportions because none of that really indicates anything, belive me. Instead of reviewing the movie I'm simply taking this opportunity to order you to see it and I don't wish to ruin your experience while you carry out my order.

Please don't misunderstand. I'm not recommending that you see it, or suggesting you see it, or advising it might be a good idea next Friday night to see it. I'm ordering you to see it. Are we clear? As of this exact moment you are without choice. You will see "Synecdoche, New York". I know this is an extreme leap of faith but you have to trust that you will understand when you are in the theater since, as stated, you have no alternative.

Now I also don't want you to get confused and think I'm giving this order because "Synecdoche, New York" is the Best Movie of the Year. I don't think it is. In fact, I'm not even sure if I liked it. Well, maybe I did. I think. But possibly not. Yet, who the hell cares? It doesn't matter. Like and dislike is a useless term in the face of this movie. All it must be is seen. There has never been a movie like it. You sometimes leave a movie and want to let it gestate for a few hours before you decide what you thought of it. Sometimes you want to let it gestate for a few days, a few weeks. You will want to let "Synecdoche, New York" gestate until you have kids and they have kids. We all wondered what Kaufman would do when given complete control over a film rather than just the screenplay and here we have our answer. My God in heaven, do we have an answer.

So go see it. Like I said, that's an order.

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