The story, yes, is a romantic comedy, but not the kind you’re thinking.  It is, of course, centered around Jack.  He’s a quiet, mostly unremarkable man, with few friends, and even less family.  The two friends he does have are Clyde (John Ortiz), and Lucy (Deaphne Rubin-Vega).  They’re good friends to him, and seem to have it together.  They match him up with another slightly odd acquaintance of theirs, Connie (Amy Ryan).  The two start a strange romance that buds quiet nicely, while at the same time, Lucy and Clyde’s marriage is deteriorating as truths come out about infidelities and betrayals of trust.

The play is written by Bob Glaudini, and was adapted for the screen by him as well.  It’s full of witty and fresh dialog and fantastic scenes.  It’s an optimistic view on the joys of loving and being loved, despite all kinds of obstacles.  It should come as no surprise that something this sturdy comes from Hoffman, who literally gets lost in his character.  There’s not much Hoffman does that’s less than superb.  While it seems, in the beginning, that the film was going to take a turn closer to the tone of Welcome to the Dollhouse, Hoffman manages to keep this story hopeful, and bright.  His direction style is confidant, and well-toned.  The world was introduced to Ryan’s comedy during her short stint as Holly on The Office.  You’ll be pleased to know that she’s just as funny here, and makes personal manias endearing, and even sexy.  In one of the film’s most charming moments, she gently explains to Jack her humble requirements when they decide to make love for the first time.  It instantly reminds of a similar scene between Adam Sandler and Emily Watson in Punch-Drunk Love.  I don’t think it’s too high of praise to compare Jack to the P.T. Anderson film.  The optimism found here is refreshing, without sacrificing a charismatic, and intriguing plot.  This, I’m sure, will surface as one of the best that Sundance has to offer this year.

3.5 out of 4 stars

The story follows a ship that broadcasts Rock and Roll into the UK.  It’s called Pirate Radio, because apparently the government didn’t allow land-based stations to play that sort of music?  I don’t know.  It wasn’t clearly explained.  The ship is full of DJs that each have a show, and a few extraneous crew members there to fulfill flat character types (the lesbian, the fatherless youth looking for a family).  They listen to good music, do drugs, and bring women on board to have sex with, but they’re only allowed once a week (and they’re not allowed to live on the boat unless they play for the other team).  It’s all ‘based on a true story.’  But it seems mostly that the characters and even the boat itself (named Pirate Radio) are all really composites of several rouge radio stations and DJ personalities from the sixties on up to the early nineties).

Despite being a little overly familiar, the movie does have times when it really shines (I’ll admit that I laughed aloud a few times).  This is due to, of course, the outstanding cast, which features Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy and Emma Thompson (just to name a few).  They were helped out by the script, penned by Curtis, which, despite devolving into something melodramatic and mediocre, starts out with some really witty stuff.  Bill Nighy’s comedic timing is damn near perfect, and Rhys Ifans is always a pleasure to watch.  There’s some great classic music showcased here, and occassionally you’ll be carried away by the film.  But you will only be rudely awaken when the film loses it’s quippy pace.  The whole thing ends with an homage of album covers that includes bands like The Black Eyed Peas, and Eminem.  Yes, I was just as confused as you probably are.

2.5 out of 4 stars

Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Caden Cotard, a small time theater director who has incredibly bad luck.  The name Cotard, by the way, is most likely a reference to a rare nueropsychiatric disorder in which a person believes that he is dead, or doesn’t exist.  This is constantly hinted at throughout the movie.  Caden has a wife, Adele (played by Catherine Keener who has not once disappointed me with a performance), and a young daughter.  It’s a horribly dysfunctional marriage, with hints of lesbian love affairs (with an odd character played by Jennifer Jason Leigh who got lost in her role–not in a good way).  Adele takes her daughter, and leaves Caden for her art show in Berlin, leaving him all alone.  He then is given a MacArthur Genius Grant and attempts to create a new play that’s powerful and true.  The entire time, he’s sick with one weird affliction after the next: seizures, pustules, tremors, bleeding gums, losing the ability to cry, salivate, swallow.

With his wife gone, Caden starts exploring relationships with other women.  This leads to an affair with his eventual assistant Hazel (played by Samantha Morton) who lives in a house that’s been on fire since before she bought it, a short marriage to his leading lady Claire (Michelle Williams) which produces another daughter, and another leading lady Tammy (played by Emily Watson) who plays Hazel in Caden’s new play.  It gets very confusing as the movie goes on, as Caden attempts to make a life-size replica of New York in an enormous warehouse.  Actors become actors playing actors, playing actors, playing actors.

There are some very touching, hilarious and poignant moments in Synedoche.  The acting is tremendous.  This is one of the most talented ensemble casts of any movie this year.  Kaufman’s direction is incredibly ambitious, and is much better than you’d expect for a freshman effort.  You’d think he’d been in the director’s chair for years.  His style is distinctive and beautiful.  It’s useless to list all of the players by name when it seems they were all equally as driven and satisfying in their roles (save Leigh, and I’m not sure who’s at fault there).

As far as entertainment goes, I definitely wasn’t bored during the lengthy two hours and three minutes. The one major issues that plagues the film is that Kaufman brings up and flutters around scores of interesting ideas, without landing on any one of them to fully develop them.  For a while, the film seems to be about death, and the beauty of it.  Then it’s about the sadness of death.  Then it’s about unrequited love.  Now is it about an unreliable narrator? Then it’s about…  The entire two hours, Kaufman pitches concept after concept at the audience, and before I had a chance to even begin to wrap my mind around it, the movie had moved on.  Perhaps this problem would be solved with a repeat viewing, but mostly it seems like there’s simply too much crammed in here.  Kaufman could have written several movies with so much material.

Extremely dark, and requiring intense amounts of concentration, Synecdoche, New York is not for your average movie-goer.  It has it’s flaws, but if you make the effort, Kaufman can take you into an overwhelming world of creative expression.

3 out of 4 stars

Rottentomatoes: 65% – Cream of the Crop: 67%

The story follows Irish, New York drug dealer Monty (the impeccable Edward Norton).  He’s not big time, but not necessarily small time either.  The police got him on enough stuff to put him away for seven years, and it’s only his first offense.  He’s already been sentenced and has one day to say goodbye to his recovering alkie father (the tremendous Brian Cox), see his sleazy best friend and Wall Street financier (Barry Pepper in, perhaps, the only performance I’ve ever seen him where I wasn’t annoyed), and to see his not so sleazy other best friend, a Jewish teacher at a fancy prep school (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who has some controlled, but inappropriate tendencies towards one of his more flashy students (a completely terrific Anna Paquin).  Also along for the right is his freakishly attractive girlfriend Naturelle (Rosario Dawson), whom he suspects may have turned him into the police.  The prospect of this tortures him.

Every single actor is as aggressive and fantastic as Lee is in his direction.  Norton is an acting tour de force.  His five minute monologue insulting every race, organization and institution that make up the five boroughs is some of the best acting I’ve seen, and the material is no less moving.  The story is adapted by David Benioff, and it’s based on the novel he wrote.  It’s a story of human triumph, the ability to manage, even in the face of tremendous odds against you.  The film was released in 2002, and Lee tastefully used the newly shattered New York skyline, the devastation of Ground Zero to compare and contrast Monty’s newly shattered life, and to insinuate the hope for Monty if he doesn’t give up on himself.  It’s truly haunting,  The score is intense, dramatic, and keeps a dark sense of doom in the back of your mind.  At first viewing, I thought the score was a little much, but later I realized nothing could be more fitting as you’re heading to a tough, maximum security in prison… for seven years.  Lee used some really fascinating camera work to build up this piece as more than just a brilliant narrative, but something that’s enchanting to look at.  This is one of those rare cinematic pieces that, despite it’s few flaws, will remain with you for a long, long time to come.

4 out of 4 stars

Rottentomatoes: 77% – Cream of the Crop: 76%

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