Hey folks, Harry here.... Wanna know something really special about this review? He doesn't mention the movie was shot on Hi-Def 24 fp Digital. It is a NON-ISSUE. Here, he just reviews the movie, didn't notice there was anything different. Didn't say there were cinematography flaws with the film looking fuzzy or some other odd thing. Nope, here he realizes that... The film simply was a story he loved, with performances he loved, laid out the way he loved... And there was no mention of how it was shot or what it was shot on. That's how you know a change is coming, when you never see it happen...
Hey Harry, first time to send in anything, and also my first time to write a movie review, hope you dig.
As students at the University of Colorado, we had a chance to see Andrew Niccol's new film S1m0ne/Simone.
Simone is a fantastic satire on the Hollywood movie making engine that at first seems to be along the same lines as The Player but quickly becomes its own special breed, as is to be expected from Andrew Niccol the writer/director. Niccol is one the most creative and underrated writers in Hollywood: Gattaca, Truman Show, and now Simone are types of films that could all be tossed into one category or the next, but upon closer examination require special handling and their own pedestal.
The basic premise is simple enough: Al Pacino plays a film director, Viktor Taransky, whose female lead (hilarious cameo, won't ruin it here) walks off the set of his do or die movie, and fed up with the system in general he creates his own actress, a digital actress. Well, the film is a hit, and no one, not even the studio's president played perfectly by Catherine Keener knows that Simone is artificial. Simone becomes an overnight success, wins awards, shows up on magazine covers, makes speeches, and is pursued by the media relentlessly, but all under the control of Taransky. Simone evolves into a cross between Pinocchio and HAL 9000, and Taransky with his new found God complex tires of her whining and essentially sets her free into the jungles of Hollywood and the fickle public heart.
The satire here is smart, witty, and often times gut-wrenchingly hilarious. Unlike The Player which poked fun of the movie making process from a studio's standpoint, Simone focuses more upon how a star is created as an overnight sensation, but how quickly our public figures fall in and out of the nation's heart. It's great to see Pacino take a break from the tortured roles and into a part he has obviously has so much fun with. Catherine Keener is equally entertaining as Pacino's boss. She and Pacino share great chemistry that may or may not be rooted in some "history" we never fully understand. Jay Mohr is very funny as Simone's costar and man of the hour, and geeks will be thrilled to see Jason Schwartzman step in with his trade mark dry wit in several scenes.
Who the hell is Rachel Roberts and why is she just now being cast in movie? This woman is breathtaking, and I'm already sweating at the thought of the inevitable slew of pictorials that will follow this film. She's absolutely stunning and the role could not be better cast given that she is an unknown and virtually perfect. Roberts also gives a great performance and the back and forth between her and Pacino are the best in the movie.
The cast is right on, but the real star of the movie is Niccol. Every time out this guy hits a homerun and this is my 2nd favorite (behind Gattaca) of his filmography thus far. It seems like a very predictable premise but just when you take a break thinking you know where things are going, Niccol pulls something out you weren't at all expecting.
Buck Jones
