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Do
you recall the buzz around Final Fantasy: The
Spirits Within? Just to refresh your memory, there was much talk about how
the computer generated animations are getting so good that actors might
eventually be replaced by computer nerds. After seeing that film I thought it
would still be a ways off since the animations were not that good, and I figured
it would be difficult to create a computer actor that people would want to see
that could then in essence carry a film much like Mel Gibson or Julia Roberts
can do. Maybe writer and director Andrew Niccol soaked up these ideas, or maybe
he came up with them before this, but nonetheless his new movie Simone takes us
down that strange path of a computerized movie star. The
story begins with every director’s worst nightmare, the star walking out of
their picture during filming. In this case it is actress Nicola Anders (Winona
Ryder, Mr. Deeds) walking out on
director Viktor Taransky’s (Al Pacino, Insomnia)
artsy film, Sunrise Sunset. Mr. Taransky is already having problems in the movie
biz after doing well in the beginning, but this is his new low point. After the
walkout, Taransky’s ex-wife Elaine (Catherine Keener, Death to Smoochy),
who is also a studio executive, pulls the plug on the project. While packing up
the reels of film already shot, Viktor is approached by a strange man by the
name of Hank Aleno (Elias Koteas, Collateral
Damage) with a strange
proposition. Hank wants Viktor to use a new computer program he created called
Simulation One, or S1m0ne, or Simone. This program can realistically create
computer actors that will seem real, but are completely controlled by the
computer operator. Viktor just thinks Hank is a nut job and dismisses him, which
still doesn’t stop the persistent but dying Hank. Soon Hank passes on, but
wills his program to Viktor, who eventually turns the thing on and uses it to
finish Sunrise Sunset. In it, his blonde
bombshell actress Simone (Rachel Roberts)
steals the show and helps make the film a hit, and her a star. This creates a
buzz around Viktor as well, which he uses to try and get back with his ex and
their daughter Lainey (Evan Rachel Wood, Practical Magic).
On the professional front, Viktor struggles with whether or not to expose the
truth about Simone, or continue to use the program to create more movies and
even launch a singing career for the computer girl. That is pretty much what the
rest of the film is about, this struggle and how it envelopes Viktor. Some
others worth mentioning in the film are Jay Mohr, Jeffrey Pierce, Jeff Williams,
Benjamin Salisbury, Barry Papick,
Pruitt Taylor Vince as a sleazy
reporter, Jason Schwartzman, Daniel
von Bargen, and Deborah Rawlings. Pacino
is great in this film as the conflicted director and father, which is good since
most of the film is him. This is what makes this movie decent instead of bad. My
main problem is that everything is a bit over-the-top with the Simone
character’s rise to fame. I do not recall anyone rising so fast as this
character. I know the filmmakers are poking fun at Hollywood (the press, actors,
actresses, and the studios), but please, make it palatable. So, with Al leading
the way, Simone receives six couches for the About-Movies.com rating.
Last updated: Thursday, March 20, 2008 02:48:12 AM Click Here to get back into frames.
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