7) Synecdoche, New York
I defy anyone to be able to explain Synecdoche, New York with any sort of success or accuracy after watching it the first time round. Charlie Kauffman’s movie is a project so complex, multi-dimensional and mind-warping, that it may take two, three, or even four viewings to truly understand it. Even then there will remain aspects that you try to grasp, but force your hand to close on thin air.
The late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman plays a worn, depleted theatre director who takes on a new project that he decides to completely throw himself into. As the play expands, his reality and his project begin to gradually intersect with one another, blurring the line between his real life and his dreams.
Endlessly layered and supremely intelligent, Synecdoche, New York is unrivalled by many in the way it so aptly mirrors human life: Simple on the surface yet wildly complex underneath. There are no eye-popping special-effects to portray the inside of the protagonist’s mind; just simple aesthetics that we’re all familiar with. Life is deep and meaningful enough without dazzling computer-generated effects dancing on top of it. Synecdoche, New York knows this, and shows it. And it’s wonderful.