Synecdoche, New York

Not to be confused with Schenectady, New York.

Synecdoche, New York
Theatrical release poster
Directed byCharlie Kaufman
Written byCharlie Kaufman
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyFrederick Elmes
Edited byRobert Frazen
Music byJon Brion
Production
companies
Sidney Kimmel Entertainment
Likely Story
Projective Testing Service
Russia Inc.
Distributed bySony Pictures Classics
Release dates
  • May 23, 2008 (2008-05-23) (Cannes)
  • October 24, 2008 (2008-10-24) (United States, limited)
Running time
123 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million[2]
Box office$4.5 million[2]

Synecdoche, New York (/sɪˈnɛkdəki/ sin-EK-də-kee)[3] is a 2008 American postmodern[4] psychological drama film written and directed by Charlie Kaufman in his directorial debut. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as an ailing theater director who works on an increasingly elaborate stage production and whose extreme commitment to realism begins to blur the boundaries between fiction and reality. The film's title is a play on Schenectady, New York, where much of the film is set, and the concept of synecdoche, wherein a part of something represents the whole or vice versa.

The film premiered in competition at the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 23, 2008. Sony Pictures Classics acquired the United States distribution rights, paying no money but agreeing to give the film's backers a portion of the revenues.[5][6] It had a limited theatrical release in the U.S. on October 24, 2008, and was a commercial failure on its initial release.[2]

The story and themes of Synecdoche, New York polarized critics: some called it pretentious or self-indulgent, but others declared it a masterpiece, with Roger Ebert ranking it as the decade's best.[7] The film was also nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, and has since appeared in multiple polls of the greatest films of the 21st century.[8][9]

  1. ^ "Synecdoche, New York (15)". British Board of Film Classification. April 16, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "Synecdoche, New York (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  3. ^ Jeffries, Stuart (May 12, 2009). "Two tickets for, er, Syne ... er ... that new film please". The Guardian. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  4. ^ Hoby, Hermione (May 13, 2009). "The ultimate postmodern novel is a film". The Guardian. London. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  5. ^ Horn, John (May 14, 2009). "Sony Classics' Michael Barker and Tom Bernard take the long view of success". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  6. ^ Schuker, Lauren A.E.; Sanders, Peter (September 3, 2008). "Glut of Films Hits Hollywood". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  7. ^ Ebert, Roger (December 30, 2009). "The Best Films of the Decade". RogerEbert.com.
  8. ^ "The 100 best films of the 21st century". The Guardian. September 13, 2019.
  9. ^ "The 21st Century's 100 greatest films". BBC.