--- title: "Synecdoche, New York: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/synecdoche-new-york/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/synecdoche-new-york" critics_score: 72 critics_reviews: 15 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Synecdoche, New York (2008): what the critics said Critics' score 72 from 15 reviews: 9 positive, 4 mixed, 2 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Charlie Kaufman’s ambitious, difficult film about a theatre director trying to capture life in an ever-expanding production. Praise centres on the writing’s dark humour and its treatment of love, loneliness and death, with Philip Seymour Hoffman repeatedly singled out for keeping the increasingly complicated story emotionally engaging. The supporting cast also draws broad approval, while The New York Times finds precision in the way Kaufman compresses a lifetime into the narrative. The spread of opinion is wide, and even admirers describe stretches as frustrating, overcomplicated or self-indulgent. For some, the multiplying characters and shifting realities make the sadness more affecting; for others, they become exhausting, particularly as the film progresses. Slant Magazine offers a firm dissent, finding Kaufman’s ideas undisciplined and joyless. The central disagreement is over whether the film’s complications deepen its account of ordinary fears or simply keep repeating them. ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 5/5. 1 October 2008. This first film as writer/director from the man behind Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine is as neurotic and experimental as expected. Deeply ambitious, it is genius at some points but at others barely connects. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/synedoche-new-york) ## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 4 January 2009. The film is a complex, jam-packed reflection on life, love, art and mortality through the story of a theater director staging an ever-expanding production that blurs reality and performance. Dargis praises Kaufman's precise writing and the way the narrative condenses a lifetime's mysteries into its structure. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/movies/awardsseason/04darg.html) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 15 May 2009. Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut is either a masterpiece or a massively dysfunctional act of self-indulgence. It is a film of mad Beckettian grandeur about the terrible twin truths of existence: life is disappointing and death inescapable. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/may/15/synecdoche-new-york) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Rating B+. 23 October 2008. Kaufman’s magnum opus multiplies his signature self-reflexive absurdities into an ungainly but witty and poignant brain-teaser about creativity, love and mortality; Hoffman anchors the chaos as the playwright whose impossible project demands repeat viewings. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/synecdoche-new-york-1798205107) ## Los Angeles Times — Carina Chocano Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 24 October 2008. Kaufman's sprawling directorial debut is an awe-inspiring yet frustrating meditation on futility, loss and the struggle to capture life in art, centered on a theater director's massive, ever-evolving production. Chocano highlights its beauty, the score, performances and the universal resonance of its existential themes. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-synecdoche24-2008oct24-story.html) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 23 May 2008. Festival review. Kaufman’s directorial debut is a film of staggering imagination exploring the fragility of human existence and the inevitability of death. It remains incredibly engaging and ultimately very moving thanks to Hoffman’s bravura performance. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/synecdoche-new-york/4038803.article) ## Little White Lies — Matt Bochenski Rating 3/3/4. 14 May 2009. Kaufman’s directorial debut is a difficult, maddening and elusive film that is also intriguing, profound and darkly funny. It is over-complicated and self-indulgent but ultimately an ambitious and beautiful work of bold truths powered by rigorous intelligence. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/synecdoche-new-york) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 23 May 2008. Festival review. Kaufman's directorial debut is a wildly ambitious, gravely serious contemplation of life, love, art, decay and death that features structural trickery and strong performances but risks being overreaching and obscure. McCarthy notes it will intrigue loyal fans while potentially alienating others with its ambiguity. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2008/film/awards/synecdoche-new-york-2-1200522114/) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 24 October 2008. Kaufman's ambitious directorial debut grapples with existence, mortality and creativity but often feels morbid and obvious in its depictions of decay. Lane notes strong performances, especially from supporting actresses, but finds the film lacking joy compared to similar works like The Singing Detective. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/11/03/lets-put-on-a-show) ## Slant Magazine — Fernando F. Croce Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 13 October 2008. Kaufman’s undisciplined directorial debut joylessly explores the artistic psyche as a miasma of anxieties and alter-egos; brilliant screenwriting conceits become dead-ends when left without collaborators, resulting in a formless, morose display of undigested neuroses. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/synecdoche-new-york/) ## Empire — Andrew Male 23 April 2009. The critic describes the film as astonishing, noting that Kaufman has surpassed himself with a work that will delight and confound viewers, who will want to see it again and again, highlighting its humanity amid the surreal maze of the protagonist's mind. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/synecdoche-new-york-review/) ## Evening Standard 10 April 2012. The critic finds the film a mindbender that inspires love and hate equally, loving the first half but growing tired of the complexities in the second, while praising the beautiful acting, unorthodox script and panache of the direction. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/synecdoche-new-york-is-a-real-mindbender-7414359.html) ## IndieWire — Eric Hynes 22 October 2008. Kaufman’s debut is a self-made-man portrait that turns the protagonist’s endless theatrical expansion of his own life into a sprawling, philosophical meditation on art, mortality and human connection. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/review-a-self-made-man-charlie-kaufmans-synecdoche-new-york-71526/) ## The Hollywood Reporter 22 May 2008. Festival review. Kaufman’s directorial debut mesmerizes some and mystifies others with its dreamlike jigsaw of duplicated characters, shifting time frames and multiple environments; Hoffman is perfect as the theater director whose ambitious life-spanning play yields melancholy, regret and occasional hilarity. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/synecdoche-new-york-125171/) ## The Independent 30 October 2008. Festival review. The critic calls it the most ambitious American film of the year but also potentially the most pretentious, finding it difficult to enjoy as an intellectual exercise while praising the uniformly excellent cast and contributions from cinematographer Fred Elmes and composer Jon Brion. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/synecdoche-new-york-london-film-festival-978264.html) ## The Telegraph Rating *****. 15 May 2009. Maverick screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut is not the happiest film around, but it's still a magnificently honest, mind-bending masterpiece. It is a tough ask to make 'monumentally sad' sound like a recommendation. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/5330373/Synecdoche-New-York.html) ## Total Film — Neil Smith 11 May 2009. The critic praises the film as a stunningly ambitious, slyly witty and deeply affecting tale that is smart, funny and endlessly poignant, commending its complex narrative and strong ensemble of female indie talent. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/synecdoche-new-york-review/) ## Eye for Film — Anton Bitel Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 27 October 2008. The critic describes the film as a dizzyingly rich, brain-bending memento mori of sombre resignation and bleak futility that avoids repetition while exploring repetitions and symmetries in human existence, calling it Kaufman's finest and most important work with the feel of a classic. It singles out the riveting central performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Kaufman's seamless direction that immerses the viewer in the protagonist's lost state between reality, fantasy, and performance. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/synecdoche-new-york-film-review-by-anton-bitel) ## NME — Owen Nicholls Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 18 May 2009. The critic loves the film's personal, self-indulgent yet well-crafted exploration of big themes like loneliness, desire, and death through surreal imagery and excellent cast. Recommends it for those who enjoy having their brain challenged. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/blogs/the-movies-blog/if-you-enjoy-having-your-brain-fucked-with-synecdoche-new-york-is-for-you-47488) ## Den of Geek — CJ Wheeler Rating 4/5. 8 June 2009. The critic praises the film's ability to merge high concept with the everyday in a genuinely affecting way, highlighting the strong performances especially from the female ensemble and Philip Seymour Hoffman. They note some issues with Catherine Keener's character but overall find it a mind-bending yet hopeful exploration of life. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/synecdoche-new-york-review-2/) ## HeyUGuys — David Sztypuljak Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 6 October 2009. The critic finds the film bizarre, hard to fully understand, and quirky with illogical elements, yet praises the spectacular set design realizing the ambitious warehouse project and the strong performances, especially Philip Seymour Hoffman's lead and supporting turns by Emily Watson, Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton, and Tom Noonan. It is viewed as a desolate dark comedy about self-discovery, family struggles, health issues, and the prevalence of death. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/review-synecdoche-new-york/) ## Digital Spy — Stella Papamichael Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 10 May 2009. The critic finds the film overambitious and frustrating in its later stages as it loses humor and becomes navel-gazing, though admires the boldness and strong early performances, particularly Hoffman's. They criticize the self-obsession and repetitive comedy. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a154630/synecdoche-new-york/) ## Consequence 21 October 2018. The critic calls the film a complicated, agonized, profoundly human masterpiece whose singular ambition and emotional depth make it exhilarating despite its unrelenting existential despair. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2018/10/classic-film-review-synecdoche-new-york/) ## Paste — Amanda Petrusich 24 October 2008. The critic finds Kaufman's directorial debut an intriguing but overreaching exercise in semiotic theory and existential themes that becomes more tedious than revelatory in its final stretches. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/charlie-kaufman/synecdoche-new-york) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/synecdoche-new-york.md