Philip Seymour Hoffman - In memory of a true artist

Yesterday night my friend messaged me that Hoffman is no more. My first reply was Dustin or Philip even though we both knew that I mention Philip Seymour Hoffman alone as Hoffman and he’s the only Hoffman I talk about. Sadly the reply stated its Philip, still unwilling to believe I asked him are you sure and he confirmed it by giving a link. That was a big blow for me. Personally I am a big fan of the actor. He is well known for his collaboration with Paul Thomas Anderson.

Wikipedia Image of Philip Seymour Hoffman

Although there are lots and lots of movies of him where he elated the movie to a different level my personal favourites are Capote, Before the Devil knows you are dead and Synecdoche New York. I would like to share a few words about these movies. One may ask I have missed “The Master” and many other works there are lot of people out there to talk about it and on reading all the news in the net I found these movies of my choice except Capote went unmentioned. So it’s just for my personal satisfaction.

Capote – This is the most mentioned movie in the net because he got Academy Award for the movie that brought him the fame to the movie. The movie deals with the process of making the book “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote. The book turned the life of the author and Hoffman was the only man who could have done the justice to the role. The transition of the character in the movie is immense and Hoffman’s portrayal added a greater depth.

Before the devil knows you're dead – This movie is the last directorial venture of one of my favourite director Sidney Lumet. This movie is a crime drama and Hoffman plays the lead along with Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei and Albert Finney. Sidney Lumet gave an awesome farewell to his career in this movie and Hoffman was awesome in the role. The movie got critical acclaim and remembered most as a Sidney Lumet film not much as a Hoffman film. Yes, everybody has a great part but still as a fan I felt Lumet able to feed the hunger of Hoffman very well to move the story.

Synecdoche New York – This is my all time favourite movie. This film made me a Hoffman fan. The movie was a directorial debut of the acclaimed screen writer Charlie Kaufman. This postmodern drama is by far the best performance of Hoffman as to my knowledge. The movie is one of the most mind bending movies I ever watched. I am sure I can testify at any time that without Hoffman there won’t be Synecdoche. I felt a bit bad that not much website mentioned about this movie. This movie really makes us to understand the potential of the actor and how far an actor can increase the depth of the character and what exactly is subtlety. I may sound exaggerating the facts but once you watch this movie you will also feel the same. There are very few mind bending movies which can emote and this is one of those rare gems.

A Still from Synecdoche New York

He is no star and never was but an artist who added value to the movies he was in. Be it the artistic movies or the commercial movies he added the value which is evident with his screen presence. This is a great loss for the Hollywood and Artistic cinema fans. I won’t write grievance notes but I write this piece because this day I want to remember the actor, the artist, the performer and the entertainer who gave us all the pleasure on screen. We will really miss you. Link to the video shared by my friend on Facebook as a tribute to Philip Seymour Hoffman.