Themes: Inventors, Success is the Best Revenge, Ladder to the Top
Main Cast: Al Pacino, Catherine Keener, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Jay Mohr, Jason Schwartzman
Release Year: 2002
Country: US
Run Time: 117 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Is the time approaching when a persona in its entirety could be a mere fabrication of modern culture and technology? Or did Hollywood enter that time long ago? Either way Viktor Taransky (Al Pacino) finds himself growing more and more aware of the media-obsessed culture in which he tries to earn his living. Taransky is a film director struggling to survive in an industry that doesn't require or want his artistic vision. When first he meets a stranger whose vision is considered somewhat questionable, he doesn't realize the potential of the idea to digitally incorporate a character into his otherwise unsalvageable film. However, in time, not only the director and the entire studio, but American pop culture at large will grow to embrace Simone. As Taransky earns popularity and acclaim via the success of the digitally constructed actress he "discovered," he struggles to define his own identity as an artist and a person, and finds that lying to cover up Simone's non-existence is altering his life entirely. His ex-wife and former employer Elaine (Catherine Keener) notices the difference in his personality, upsetting their daughter Lainey (Evan Rachel Wood) and her hopes of their reconciliation. Meanwhile, stray paparazzi turned private investigators threaten to make public incriminating evidence, which could destroy the limelight Taransky enjoys while "hiding" Simone. Amazingly, what Simone doesn't say or do creates all the more buzz, and causes Taransky to face the reality of his industry. Written and directed by Andrew Niccol (Gattaca), Simone takes a satirical approach to an otherwise fantastical comedy. ~ Sarah Sloboda, All Movie Guide
Review
Writer Andrew Niccol (The Truman Show, Gattaca) integrates his unique alter-world feel into the more mainstream Hollywood genre, if only to laugh in its face, with Simone. Filmmaker Viktor Taransky's (Al Pacino) own annoyance with popular culture in the film allows laughs at the film industry and the Hollywood scene themselves. Pacino commands the screen as a humorous force, reiterating his appeal as a wide-range performer, while revisiting Truman Show themes of "creator" in relation to "persona," by touching on issues of identity. Indeed, he gives the character realistic life while maintaining the Niccol-esque contemplative feel of the film. Awareness of pop culture and idols runs rampant throughout, but the film refrains from becoming heavy and critical in favor of hysterical lightheartedness. Appearances by famous faces like Winona Ryder and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos serve dually as tokens of pop culture -- in the context of the film, and the reality of their appearance in it. Saturated in equal parts humor and intellect, the dialogue is rounded off by visual jokes, creating a comedy successful in both sight and sound. Simone incorporates Niccol's fixation on technology and media into a film of pure entertainment for a wide audience. The cultural commentary is easily accessed by anyone who's ever seen a movie, likewise, the comedy by anyone who's ever laughed at one. ~ Sarah Sloboda, All Movie Guide
Sarah Knowles - Art Director, Francine Maisler - Casting, Daniel Lupi - Co-producer, Elisabetta Beraldo - Costume Designer, Andrew Niccol - Director, Paul Rubell - Editor, Michael De Luca - Executive Producer, Lynn Harris - Executive Producer, Carter Burwell - Composer (Music Score), Jan Roelfs - Production Designer, Edward Lachman - Cinematographer, Andrew Niccol - Producer, Randall D. Wilkins - Set Designer, John Pritchett - Sound/Sound Designer, Andrew Niccol - Screenwriter, William Robbins - Visual Effects Supervisor, Kent Demaine - Visual Effects Supervisor, Mark Dornfeld - Visual Effects Supervisor, Perpetual Motion Pictures, Inc. - Digital Effects, Richard King - Supervising Sound Editor, Crystal Dowd - Visual Effects Producer, Medusah - Key Hairstylist, CIS Hollywood - Visual Effects, Blackbox Digital - Visual Effects, Leslie Pope - Set Decorator
