Synecdoche, New York

A genius in his own mind, stage director Caden Cotard (Hoffman), who suffers from a variety of ailments, goes off the deep end to conceive his grand opus: a replication of Manhattan in a warehouse and a re-enactment of his life-is-art philosophy. Oscar-winning writer Kaufmann shows he has as much talent behind the camera in his directorial debut. Hoffman delivers another Oscar-worthy performance and anchors the occasionally meandering, existential script, which showcases Kaufmann's unique voice and ability to portray melancholy with such depth and wit as to avoid his material being utterly depressing.