S1M0NE
Starring:
Al Pacino, Catherine Keener, Evan Rachel Wood, Jay Mohr, Jason Schwartzman,
Winona Ryder and Rachael Roberts
Writer/Director: Andrew Niccol
Running Time: 117 mins
Certificate: PG
Out to buy on DVD 28th July
Viktor Taransky's (Pacino) career was going down hill, his bitchy, over-demanding star (Ryder) had just walked away from his picture and the head of the studio, Elaine Christian (Keener), has just fired him and she is his ex-wife. He thought that things couldn't get any worse when a crazed computer scientist confronted him telling Viktor that he could solve all his problems. His answer was a synthespian, a computer generated actor that would never have tantrums, make excessive demands and do exactly what they were told. So Simone was created to finish Viktor's movie but what he didn't expect was that she would become an overnight sensation and the world would want to know everything about her.
As a concept, this movie is right on the Hollywood button. Computer generated actors are really taking off with CG characters doing things that no human could ever do (See Spider-Man) and computers are used to create fantastical beings from other worlds who act alongside their human counterparts (See the Star Wars prequels). But Andrew Niccol's film is about more than that as it is the excesses of the mainstream studio system that is his real target. Actors with delusions of self-importance, studios with too much control over the creative process and the whole idea of celebrity that the media has forced down our necks is the underlying message of this film. The problem is that the script isn't strong enough to convey this message forcefully enough.
Al Pacino performance is superb however and he is reason alone to see this movie. He brings humility to role making Viktor transformation from doing it all for the craft to celebrity manipulator all that more powerful. He is surrounded by a magnificent supporting cast that is criminally underused with only Pacino and newcomer Rachel Roberts as Simone getting a large share of screen time.
In the end the story is a missed opportunity. Instead of a spiteful incite into the excesses of the Hollywood system, we get a Frankenstein tale of a creation becoming more than its creator. No one really remembers the Doctor but everyone remembers the monster he bought to live. While this is still appealing, it seems to overshadow Niccol's true message but as he wrote and directed the film it looks like this element of the story ironically got the better of him.
Alternative and deleted scenes, 'Cyber Stardom' featurette, 'Simulating Simone' fx featurette, Teaser trailer, Theatrical trailer, Interactive menu & Scene access
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