The film's been out for a week here, and possibly most of you don't care what thinkst the Aussie critics of Synecdoche. But since it's my home turf, I might as well report that responses here are split 50/50, just like everywhere else. (The DailyTelegraph gave it 3.5 stars out of 5; the Sunday Telegraph - same paper, different day - gave it 2.5... or 1.5, I can't remember. When one newspaper can't make up its own mind, you know you have a divisive film.)

 ANYWAY.

Here's a fair and balanced Aussie review I came across, just for the hell of it. Random snippet, written by Tim Kroenert:

Kaufman has been criticised for coldness; that in bottling empathetic characters with mind-boggling ideas, he emphasises the latter, to the detriment of the former. That can be said of Synecdoche, New York.

Although Caden's successful artist wife, Adele (Keener) augments his own self-loathing; although the infatuated box office girl Hazel (Morton) and Caden's doe-eyed leading lady Claire (Williams) are objects of emotional and physical desire; and although his estranged daughter, Olive, embodies all his love and longing and regret, the niggling sense that all are merely symbols in Kaufman's design makes it hard to empathise with any of them.

But don't think for a second that this is inaccessible muck. Another thing Kaufman has in common with Lynch is his humour, which is dark and absurd but always surprising. Witness Caden reduce Olive to terrified hysterics, by explaining the meaning of the word 'plumbing' with a biological analogy. Or Hazel buying and moving into a house that is literally, slowly burning. Such brilliant comic touches play a role in winning the audience over. (Source)