Sounds familiar? (Synecdoche NY)

IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
I haven't seen Synecdoche NY yet but on reading the precis of the plot I was amazed at how similar it sounds to Remainder by Tom McCarthy - in both a dysfunctional person receives a huge sum of money out of the blue which they then use to buy a building which they fill with actors mimicking specific mundane real life tasks. Wonder if Kaufman read the book....

Remainder
Remainder tells the story of an unnamed hero traumatized by an accident which “involved something falling from the sky”. Eight and a half million pounds richer due to a compensation settlement but hopelessly estranged from the world around him, Remainder’s protagonist spends his time and money obsessively reconstructing and re-enacting vaguely remembered scenes and situations from his past, such as a large building with piano music in the distance, the familiar smells and sounds of liver frying and spluttering, or lethargic cats lounging on roofs until they tumble off them. These re-enactments are driven by a need to inhabit the world "authentically" rather than in the "second-hand" manner that his traumatic situation has bequeathed him.
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Synecdoche
Caden Cotard unexpectedly receives a MacArthur genius grant that gives him unlimited wealth to pursue his artistic interests. He is determined to use the money to create a piece of brutal realism and honesty, something into which he can pour his whole self. Gathering an ensemble cast into a large warehouse in Manhattan's theater district, he directs them in a celebration of the mundane, instructing each to live out their constructed lives. As the mockup inside the warehouse grows increasingly mimetic of the city outside, Caden continues to look for solutions to his personal crises.
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S

Spike

Dissential
Good artists borrow, great artists steal... the only factors beyond that are getting caught and/or completely outdoing the previous work
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
"Good artists borrow, great artists steal... the only factors beyond that are getting caught and/or completely outdoing the previous work"
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If you can outdo it then great - if it ends up being an inferior rip-off then you look a bit silly.

"There is a lot which is stolen in Remainder as well."
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Such as?
 
S

Sick Boy

All about pride and egos
I can't speak for Remainder, but Synecdoche, NY set out to do way more than it did. Some good parts though.
 
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