The Boat That Sucked and Si-nek-duh-kee, New York

I can't remember if I have mentioned my love of Phillip Seymour Hoffman (PSH) in previous posts. Well, anyway, now you know. I have followed him and his rising career since at least 'Happiness' and 'Magnolia'. I don't recall thinking 'oh look, the defining actor of his generation' when I saw him first in 'Twister' as a madcap tornado chaser, but he certainly hasn't disappointed me since. Until now.

MBH and I had quite a few hours between checking out of the hostel and boarding our flight home on a recent trip to Melbourne. The weather was appalling and I was coming down with a bug so we decided to take shelter in a cinema. There wasn't much to choose from so we ended up seeing 'The Boat That Rocked' by default. Man, that movie really sucked. I think it was the combination of my disappointment at seeing PSH lowering himself to such an ignoble role, further disappointment at seeing one of my favourite British comedians, Nick Frost, being just plain not funny, the inclusion of that scrawny, talentless, sleaze-bag Rhys Ifans AND the all pervasive chauvanism of every aspect of the bloody film!

But it was more than that. Holistically, TBTR really, really sucked. AND I felt personally insulted at the inclusion of a character called Marianne just so, when the love story inevitably failed, they had a feeble excuse to play 'So Long, Marianne' by Leonard Cohen. Sigh.

It was with much higher hopes that MBH and I took ourselves off to see 'Synecdoche (pron. si-nek-duh-kee) New York'. It seems they've really let Charlie Kaufman off the leash this time. I have greatly enjoyed his previous works - 'Being John Malkovich', 'Adaptation' and 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'. Actually, I didn't enjoy 'Human Nature' but that might have been the presence of that scrawny weasel Rhys Ifans.

S,NY was a very interesting film in that it was unashamedly profound in it's subject matter and seemed to be an exercise in trying to draw something real out of an artistic medium. It is possible to try too hard to achieve such lofty goals though. I'm not saying the film was not effective as an exposition of the ultimate realisation of disappointment about life. As each character ages they are one by one confronted by the inescapable fact of death, a fact which drains them of their character. Pretty much everyone dies. I was left feeling that Kaufman's emphasis on futility and sadness drew us too far away from what is real about life, at least for me.

I recommend you see 'Synecdoche, New York' and decide for yourself.