INITIAL IMPRESSION:
This is the film that the Charlie Kaufman from Adaptation wanted to write.
In Adaptation he tries to tell his agent, "I don't want to cram in sex or guns or car chases, or characters you know, learning profound life lessons or growing or coming to like each other or overcoming obstacles to succeed in the end. I mean the book isn't like that, and life isn't like that. You know, it just isn't. And I feel very strongly about this." In addition, about 40 minutes into Adaptation, Charlie Kaufman's character describes himself as self-indulgent, narcissistic, solipsistic and pathetic because he's written himself into his screenplay. It seems like Caden is just him again inside his own screenplay but unlike Adaptation this one has no change or drama or story and people do not succeed in the end.
While in Adaptation Charlie Kaufman gave in to McKee and his twin brother Donald, it seems in Synecdoche he's decided to instead make a work of art his way, period. On principle I agree with this decision but feel he took it too far. There's a point at which you can overdo it.
WHY I DIDN'T LIKE IT:
At first, it's easy to get caught up in the puzzles embedded in Synecodche. Why is the house on fire? Who's writing in the girls' diary? What's the deal with the therapist? You might get the impression that beneath these puzzles, Kaufman is hiding some deep truth. Unfortunately, there's nothing there, and the puzzles are simply distractions.
As Kaufman is committed to expressing his own point of view he is therefore unwilling to let the actors express theirs. Like Caden, Kaufman is off in his own head, obsessing over his thoughts without paying attention to the world outside. It seemed like one meaningless scene after meaningless scene. If that was the point then fine, but that is about as entertaining as a movie about the glory of watching paint dry.
WHO MAY ENJOY IT:
There was one theme that stuck out of the whole film that made me feel like this piece was made for the cynics and for those who agree with the sentiments of the main character. Perhaps because I do not fall into that category I did not form a bond with Synecdoche.
Examples of this are when Caden is explaining his vision to the actors and says, "What was once before you - an exciting, mysterious future - is now behind you. Lived; understood; disappointing. You realize you are not special. You have struggled into existence, and are now slipping silently out of it. This is everyone's experience. Every single one. The specifics hardly matter. Everyone's everyone."
The other was said by the wife to Caden, when under her breath she muttered something like, "the more you get to know people the more disappointed you are".
