Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Word’s been quiet on this one since the AFM screenings earlier this year. I’m curious to see what anyone thinks who’s had a look at it already.
(minor spoilers)
THE GIST:
It’s everything Jar Jar Binks wishes he could be, it’s “S1M0NE”. Andrew Niccol’s (The Truman Show, Gattaca) newest film plays with the lines of life imitating art. Viktor Taransky (Al Pacino), a director fed up with Hollywood egos, who’s career is falling apart, is given a gift from a dying man; software that is capable of creating a virtual actress. The “actress” is accepted as a real human and becomes a national sensation. Nobody knows the secret except Taransky, who eventually gets tired of the charade and is then troubled with how to stop the speeding train without getting run over.
MY THOUGHTS:
A VERY smart film! (no surprise when coming from Niccol) As I watched I kept being reminded of a virtual Tootsie. After all, Taransky IS S1M0NE, since he programs what she does and says. Then SHE becomes the huge sensation, while he is rarely given any credit.
*Expect lots of “industry humor” and subtle jokes.
*Loved the background of the last shot of Hank!
*Lots of word-plays. For example: Hank (a one eyed man) gives Taransky his film’s “vision” (an actress with no ego)
*One of my favorite lines in the film was when Elaine (Taransky’s ex wife, played by Catherine Keener) is ranting about a supposed affair between Tarasky and S1M0NE to her second husband and her husband tells her “Sometimes I think I’m not even here” (it’s ironic since they’re talking about someone who doesn’t exist).
*Taransky seems almost schizophrenic when he converses with S1M0NE, since he’s controlling what SHE says.
*It’s a character we’ve seen Pacino play before (man who’s dedicated to his work and struggling to maintain sanity in the “real” world), but it’s still a character we love.
FINALE:
I watched the trailer on Quicktime.com and thought “eh”. But it is definitely a movie worth seeing! I love that I can’t find who actually plays S1M0NE anywhere. In the credits it lists “S1M0NE… as herself”. IMDB doesn’t list the actress either. WIRED (August 2002) has an interview with S1M0NE and short article in it. But NO WHERE is there any mention of who she is. Makes you wonder… Is there an actress?
-muNq
Well... yes. Of course there is. New Line’s just playing the game on this one, selling the film’s concept by hiding her from the publicity machine until after it’s been released.
"Moriarty" out.
