When going into a Charlie Kaufman movie you know what to expect. In this one, after a fairy normal beginning, one of the characters moves into a new house. Oh yeah, the house is on fire. Then things really begin to get weird. Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as Caden Cotard, a theatre director who’s health, mental and physical, slowly begins to unravel around him as he interacts with the numerous women in his life. Eventually, Cotard plans a play which involves numerous actors playing out scenes from his increasingly bizarre life. As the film progresses, the line between Cotard’s life and the play being staged becomes blurred, leaving the viewer to pretty much make their own interpretation about what is going on. This film is definitely going to split people down the middle. You can take from it what you want, from the very big to the very little. Is this film pretentious psychobabble? Or is it an existential masterpiece? Kaufman’s life within a play (or is it the other way round?) device works to an extent, but the overall screenplay is bloated and Kaufman’s direction so plodding that the final third of the film really drags. Of course, virtually all Kaufman’s screenplays have been mind benders, but this film really misses the touch of Michel Gondry or Spike Jonze to really immerse the viewer in the madness of Cotard’s life. On leaving the cinema after seeing Kaufman’s past enjoyable work you were trying to piece together what you had just seen. Personally for me, with this one, I was too bored to care.
The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Solid acting, intriguing idea, but let down by a drastically slow pace and overlong running time. You’ll probably want that machine from Eternal Sunshine to wipe out the memories. Rating: 3/10.
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