Synecdoche, New York 2008

As the curtain closes on his once-thriving life, theater director Caden Cotard (played by a tormented) finds himself beset by an array of physical afflictions that mirror the turmoil brewing within. His marriage to artist Adele has reached a breaking point, with the couple’s four-year-old daughter Olive caught in the midst of their unraveling relationship. The final straw comes when Adele abandons Caden for a new life in Berlin, taking Olive with her.

Following the critical success of his production of Death of a Salesman, Caden is stunned to receive a MacArthur Fellowship, granting him the financial freedom to pursue his artistic vision. He decides to use this newfound wealth to create an unflinching masterpiece that pours his very essence into its fabric. Gathering a diverse ensemble cast within a sprawling Manhattan warehouse, he sets out to craft a celebration of the mundane, instructing his players to inhabit their constructed lives as if they were reality. As the mock cityscape within the warehouse grows increasingly life-like, Caden becomes fixated on finding solutions to his personal crises, even as his physical health begins to deteriorate due to an unknown condition that is gradually shutting down his autonomic nervous system.

As the years speed by, the ever-expanding warehouse becomes a self-contained world, isolated from the decay and chaos that besets the city outside. Caden becomes increasingly consumed by his magnum opus, blurring the lines between reality and his theatrical creation by populating the cast and crew with lookalikes. For instance, Sammy Barnathan is cast in the role of Caden himself, revealing a 20-year obsession with the director’s work that culminates in his own tragic demise. Meanwhile, Hazel (played by) reenters Caden’s life, reigniting a romance that ultimately ends in heartbreak when she succumbs to smoke inhalation while trapped in her perpetually ablaze home.

As Caden’s relationships and artistic endeavors continue to spiral out of control, he becomes increasingly lost in his own world, trapped in a labyrinthine cycle of self-destruction.

As Caden navigates the precarious tightrope of his personal and professional connections, he surrenders to the allure of an actress and assumes her previous role as Ellen, Adele’s caregiver. He becomes ensconced in a surreal existence, living out his days within the confines of Adele’s apartment, now under the watchful eye of a new director who guides him through his actions like a puppeteer. Meanwhile, a mysterious cataclysm unfolds in the warehouse, leaving behind a trail of devastation and lifeless bodies. As Caden contemplates his own mortality, he finds solace in the arms of an actress who had previously portrayed Ellen’s mother, seemingly the sole survivor amidst the chaos. With the scene slowly dissolving into a desolate grayness, Caden begins to formulate a plan for the play, only to be abruptly silenced by the director’s final instruction: “Die.” The words hang in the air like a death knell, signaling the end of his existence as he succumbs to the cruel whims of fate.