Was anyone else even slightly disappointed by "Synecdoche, N.Y."? It's Charlie Kauffman's first attempt at directing, and it's clear that he failed to learn the cardinal rule of making a film: Sometimes you have to kill some of your babies to make it work. I felt like it was too long, and bloated. We could cut out 25 % of the close-ups of the principals weeping. We could remove some of the elements of the plot that don't serve a purpose. We could adopt a philosophy more akin to "show it, don't say it". All of these actions would improve on a film with TREMENDOUS potential. I'm bummed.

C