I adore this movie. It's simultaneously my favorite Charlie Kaufman film and my favorite PSH film (and I think that's pretty directly related). Like most of you guys, I also didn't really grasp how grand this film was in the beginning, but after multiple viewings, I've come to the conclusion that this movie is a masterpiece.

One of my favorite things about this film (of which there are many), is how differently it can be interpreted. On my first viewing, I saw it as a deeply sad and depressing movie about a man losing touch with everything he cares for. On my second viewing, however, I saw it as a quirky and slightly humorous take on how one can become too enveloped in one's work. Both of these interpretations seemed to nicely fit within the context of the film.

Another thing I loved about this movie is the amount of detail. Most of it I didn't notice until I saw the YMS videos on Synecdoche New York, but watching it again after viewing YMS's videos was an amazing experience. Kaufman put so much detail on seemingly unimportant things (e.g. the grey background before the end credits, the background music, the casual way in which time passes so quickly). Knowing about all of these little things truly enhanced my later screenings.

Lastly, Phillip Seymour Hoffman's acting in this movie was amazing. He perfectly took on the life of Caden, and I must say (again) that this is my favorite PSH film. Hoffman nails the subtleties that allow for Caden to be such a multifaceted character. Because of Hoffman's acting, the movie can be seen with so many different interpretations, and Hoffman's acting also really allows for Kaufman's subtleties to shine. The audience deeply feels for Caden, and they see through his eyes just how quickly the world changes, but it is still up to the audience, not Caden, to interpret if this is for better or worse.

I'm sorry for how poorly formatted and ramble-y this got, but I love this movie and most of it is due to much smaller things that most other movies lack. The attention to detail in this movie is incredible (it reminds me a lot of Haneke actually), and because of this I still feel like I've missed so so much.