Director
Charlie Kaufman
Leading Actors/Actresses
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener, Emily Watson, and Jennifer Jason Leigh
Genre
Postmodern Dramedy
Language
English
Awards
At the Cannes Film Festival, the film was nominated for the Palme d'Or.
Date of Release
October 24th, 2008
Producer
Charlie Kaufman, Spike Jonze, Sidney Kimmel, and Anthony Bregman
Setting and Context
Synecdoche, New York and Berlin, Germany
Narrator and Point of View
Told from a third person point of view.
Tone and Mood
Sad, Upsetting, Manic, Solemn, Mournful, Jovial, and Isolating
Protagonist and Antagonist
Caden Cotard (Protagonist) vs. Himself, his mental state, and his work (Antagonist)
Major Conflict
Cotard's struggle to craft his masterwork.
Climax
When Cotard dies.
Foreshadowing
Cotard's death is foreshadowed quite often in the film, especially in conversations with his wife and daughter.
Understatement
The unexpectedness and rarity of Cotard receiving the MacArthur Fellowship is understated in the film.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
N/A
Allusions
Citizen Kane, the philosophy of Sartre and Kierkegaard, popular culture, the geography of the world, other films, and Kaufman's other films.
Paradox
Cotard gives up the opportunity to direct his play despite his long and obsessive commitment to make it happen.
Parallelism
The stories of many of Cotard's actors are paralleled in the film.
