Movies:
Simpatico
DVD Release
- Release Date: 2000
- Widescreen and full-screen version of the film
- Original theatrical trailer
- Cast and crew filmographies
- 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound
- Rating:
- Genre: Drama
- Movie Type: Crime Drama, Psychological Drama
- Themes: Criminal's Revenge, Dangerous Friends, Cons and Scams
- Director: Matthew Warchus
- Main Cast: Nick Nolte, Jeff Bridges, Sharon Stone, Catherine Keener, Albert Finney, Shawn Hatosy
- Release Year: 1999
- Country: US
- Run Time: 106 minutes
- MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Old rivalries lead to new betrayals in this Sam Shepard drama with comic undertones. Vinnie (Nick Nolte) and Carter (Jeff Bridges) have known each other for years, but their relationship has grown less than cordial. Many years ago, the two men, along with Vinnie's girlfriend Rosie (Sharon Stone), were making good money in a con game at a racetrack until Simms (Albert Finney), the local racing official, got wind of their ruse. Vinnie and Carter hatched a blackmail scheme that ended Simms' career and ruined his life. Years later, Vinnie is an alcoholic low-life who still makes a living from blackmail; Carter is now a successful horse breeder, married to Rosie, and Vinnie has incriminating information about him that he uses to get Carter to pay his living expenses. Carter gets a call from Vinnie one night as he's finalizing the sale of his prize-winning stallion Simpatico; Vinnie is in jail on a morals charge regarding a woman he's been seeing named Cecilia (Catherine Keener). Vinnie makes Carter an offer: if he comes to California to help him out of this mess, he'll hand off the documents that he's been using against him for years. Carter agrees, but when he arrives, it turns out that Vinnie's not in jail, Cecilia has filed no charges against him, and this is just part of a larger scam with Carter as its target. Director Matthew Warchus made his screen debut with this film; he also adapted the screenplay (in collaboration with David Nicholls) from the play by Sam Shepard. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie GuideReview
The horseracing movie Simpatico gets off to a great start on its first leg, beautifully shot and smartly edited, revealing few details about the mysterious hold the scraggly layabout Vinnie Webb (Nick Nolte) has over millionaire breeder Lyle Carter (Jeff Bridges). As Carter leaves in the midst of a major deal to sell his prize horse, in order to fly from Kentucky to Southern California at a moment's notice, there are hints at major scandal and lewd underhanded dealings. However, as the narrative unfolds, the secrets of Sam Shepard's play are not as earth-shattering as expected, which inevitably saps some of the life from the picture. By the time it wraps up, the drama has become overwrought, with Sharon Stone's character in particular losing her marbles in a way that outstretches her sins. Still, Shepard's words, adapted by David Nicholls and director Matthew Warchus, are often capable of eliciting great performances; Nolte and Bridges are both electric, but they're surpassed by the great Albert Finney as a disgraced racing official putting his life back together, trying to avoid the temptation that once burned him. Master cinematographer and two-time Oscar winner John Toll gives the picture a rich twilight look, which doubles as thematic commentary on the impending downfall of schemers who had cheated discovery for too long. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie GuideCast
- Nick Nolte - Vinnie Webb
- Jeff Bridges - Lyle Carter
- Sharon Stone - Rosie
- Catherine Keener - Cecilia
- Albert Finney - Simms
- Shawn Hatosy - Young Vinnie
Liam Waite - Young Carter; Kimberly Payne Williams - Young Rosie
