An Atlas of Anxiety

Finally saw “Synecdoche New York”.   My admiration for Mr. Kaufman’s work is undiminished. He is a leader in writing for the cinema, in the exploration of stories meant to be told with moving pictures.  The formal stuff is in service to the narrative.  For all its artfulness “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” was, finally, a touching and genuine love story.  The “meta” narrative elements and the anxiety and melancholy of “Synecdoche” (it is preoccupied with mortality and the corporeal) kept the piece from enjoying popular success but it excited me again about the potential for wonder in the movies.