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Even those unsure how to pronounce the title are buzzing about Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut “Synecdoche, New York.” [For the record, it’s si-nek-duh-kee.]
Kaufman, the screenwriter of “Being John Malkovich” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” has come up with another typically atypical concept. In “Synecdoche,” he takes the audience inside the eroding mind of a gifted artist, alternating between decades and parallel realities at every turn. And it shouldn’t be surprising that Kaufman selected Philip Seymour Hoffman to play the challenging lead role.
Hailed as one of the great character actors of his generation, Hoffman went from scene-stealing turns in “The Big Lebowski” and “Magnolia” to Oscar winning work in “Capote.” Last year, he scored a hat trick of highly acclaimed performances in “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead,” “The Savages” and “Charlie Wilson’s War.”
“Synecdoche” offers Hoffman a chance to temper his on screen volatility, much as Jim Carrey did in “Eternal Sunshine,” with an emotional and introspective performance as an artist haunted by the notion that he may never live up to his full potential.
Metromix spoke with Hoffman about his career post-Oscar, what it’s like to work with Kaufman and how he managed to keep the director’s crazy world straight.
Given Charlie Kaufman’s reputation, did you sign on to “Synecdoche” right away, or did you wait to see the script?
I expressed interest right away, after having dinner with Charlie where he explained the concept. I didn’t sign on until a few days later, but it was really soon after talking with him about the film. Honestly, it was kind of a no-brainer.
Why?
Because the whole thing made sense to me. He talked about [the character’s] life—that he was married to this woman named Adele and had this daughter, and is directing a production of “Death of a Salesman” with young actors and injures himself. “Oh, and by the way, from when he wakes up in the beginning of the film to when he’s putting on the play, two years have gone by…” And I started to say, “Oh, I see.” I started to realize that this was the whole point, that time is moving so quickly. I mean, that’s exactly what’s happening in my own life—time is moving faster and I get older. Especially with kids, it’s a very true feeling.
“Synecdoche” is very unique in the way it jumps between decades and creates a world-within-a-world-within-a-world, how did you keep all of that straight during filming?
We made a detailed timeline, and that helped me keep things straight, since we shot it out of order. There’s this 40-year span of his life, and that’s definitely something that needs to be followed closely with makeup and the way I act behaviorally. Emotionally, though, time is not really passing for [the character]. As you get older, time starts moving so quickly that you don’t realize how much time has passed.
This is Kaufman’s first film as director, can you tell me a bit about his directing style?
I think style is a bad word, because every director interacts with people differently. Charlie was great on keeping people on point and leading the group. But he was always open to interpretation, open to considering what we wanted to bring to the character. He had an intelligent leadership style, and was up for making the tough decisions that had to be made, but he was also incredibly open and deferential.
Do you think winning an Oscar changed your status as a character actor at all? Or the types of roles you’ve been offered? Your early career had a lot of comedic roles.
I do love doing comedy, and even in “The Savages” there was a lot of humor. Even films that are not laugh riots from beginning to end, I prefer bringing some humor to the situation. With an Oscar, you do start to lose your anonymity as people start recognizing you as an actor. But you’ve got to keep evolving with your life and doing different things that interest you, and keep people wondering what will come next.
Your next film is “Doubt,” John Patrick Shanley’s adaptation of his prize-winning play, and you’ve always kept doing theater through your career. Are there any challenges in making the transition to a film set?
The transition to “Doubt” wasn’t hard at all. What Shanley did with the screenplay—he really adapted the play brilliantly. It’s very much a film now, but it hasn’t lost an ounce of what the play had. There’s definitely a difference between movies and theater, with a play you’ve got to rehearse in a very thorough way to try to give the same performance every night…with a film, it’s different. But people act on the stage because they want to. Nobody acts in plays in the hopes that “it does something for my career,” because it’s too fucking scary. Really, you have to be a masochist to go out there eight times a week in front of 600 people.
It seems like no one out there can pronounce the name of this film correctly. Any tips for how to remember the correct pronunciation of “Synecdoche?”
Well, I know how to spell it, so once you’ve spelled it a few times and had to write it down, then it’s easier to remember. I also knew what the word meant [the exact definition is “a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole, or the whole for a part”] and that made it easier. But yeah, it’s confusing, we all know.
Find showtimes for “Synecdoche, New York.”
