Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Surprising and Impressive! (4.5 stars), February 13, 2003
From all of the bad reviews this movie has been getting, I was expecting a pretty lousy movie. I really didn't think it was going to be that good, but I wanted to see it nonetheless because I love Al Pacino. I feel that no matter how bad a movie can be, as long as Al is in it I will be able to enjoy it on some level. To my surprise, "Simone" was extremely good and is a lot better than what I was led to believe.Viktor Taransky is in deep trouble when his leading actress decides to walk and not do the movie he is currently filming. The studio isn't very pleased with him and is willing to fire him due to what has just transpired. Taransky wants to make films, but hates the fact that HE ends up working for the actors when they should be working for him. Then he is presented with a gift: a simulated superstar who never leaves the computer screen. Taransky has a new actress and can control her every thought and movement. Pretty soon the whole world falls in love with the digitalized woman, Simone; unaware that it is all a big hoax. But alas, what goes up must come down at some point and things quickly get out of control when it seems like the world is doing nothing but worshipping the fake superstar. I was VERY surprised by this movie! Created by the same man behind "The Truman Show," Andrew Niccol has given us a very clever satire on superstardom and just how far fame can go. It pokes fun at the fact that we are always quick to worship some kind of icon and that we can go to ridiculous lengths. The movie was highly entertaining and amazingly funny. Al Pacino is excellent, as always. Your eyes never leave the screen when he's on camera, and he can really by funny when he wants to without having to put in too much effort. Catherine Keener is also great in her role and really knows how to play the part. The rest of the cast was also very good as well. The movie was very well written and directed. The DVD has a few neat features to offer. The picture quality is really crystal clear and the sound is great. (You even have the choice of watching it in DTS). The features on the DVD that are included are deleted scenes, two documentaries, a teaser trailer and the original theatrical trailer. While more features would've been nice, the ones that are on here are just fine. (You also get the choice of either watching the widescreen or fullscreen version of the film.) "Simone" is a very creative and entertaining film that really surprised me from start to finish. I really was surprised with how much I liked it. This might not have been the best movie to go to a theatre to see, but it is a great one to watch at home. Filled with great comedy and a clever story, this is a wonderful film that you can watch over and over again. If you're in the mood for a creative comedy, or a really good Al Pacino flick, "Simone" could be the one for you to see. I am glad I gave it a chance.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pacino makes good rebound from insomnia, October 14, 2002
Al Pacino seemed very much back in his element in this right watchable flick, after his last movie had him lumbering around interminably, unable to sleep in the land of the midnight Sun. This time he plays a down-on-luck movie director whose career suddenly takes off spectacularly after he inherits a remarkable computer-animation device, called SIMULATION ONE. It can create on-screen images that viewers can't tell from real performers. With it he creates a "perfect" virtual "actress", whom he names "S1MONE", as a contraction of the device's name. Simone becomes such an overnight sensation of an "actress" that her creator is mobbed by fans and press vying for a glimpse of her. To explain why she never appears in person, he must start advancing a scenario that paints Simone to be the ultimate recluse. Doting fans still love her, and she soon wins two Oscars, which she accepts by remote video. Many seem to have trashed this movie. Maybe it offends some for being politically incorrect -- it's about an entity being entirely manipulated by a man, and that entity convincingly appears to the public to be a woman. Maybe that's too close for comfort for the PC crowd. Or maybe it's the more tangible threat posed by the likes of Simone, to eliminate the need for real flesh-and-blood actresses. But would the same not follow for actors as well? Anyhow, the plot thickens as Pacino's character finds he can pull Simone's cyberstrings and manipulate her into a cinematic sensation and a gold mine, but her burgeoning fame offscreen becomes more than he can deal with. He resolves he must end the illusion one way or another. I won't give away any more of what follows, but I for one do recommend it as a cinematic romp well worth the ride.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Smart and funny, one of my favorite films, January 11, 2006
This is a very smart, funny, and observant film about Hollywood, the media in general, and the public, and how they manipulate each other. Al Pacino plays Viktor Taransky, a film director who has made some good films in the past, but has a difficult time dealing with the childish whims of spoiled stars. When his current leading lady Nichola Anders (Winona Ryder) walks off the set, the studio pulls the plug on his latest project, and Viktor finds himself suddenly struggling to keep his career alive, He receives a computer program from a fan which allows him to create a virtual actress, who he names Sim One, or Simone, who he then digitally inserts into all the scenes which Nichola had formerly occupied, and finishes his film. The film (titled "Sunrise, Sunset") opens to astonishing reviews, and everyone wants to know about this new starlet. Viktor is concerned about maintaining the illusion that Simone is an actual person, so much of the rest of the movie is devoted to providing necessary media exposure for Simone, while concealing the fact that she doesn't really exist outside of a computer. Viktor cleverly arranges for remote interviews on popular talk shows, even a "live" (actually holographic) concert appearance. One very funny sequence involves arranging for Simone to be seen driving in freeway traffic, and conversing with Viktors ex-wife Elaine, who is driving in an adjacent car. In another scene, Viktor simulates spending an evening with Simone in a posh hotel, knowing that papparazzi are outside waiting for any glimpse of her. He thus cleverly links himself to Simone even more closely in the media spotlight, and enhances his own fame. Simones second film ("Eternity Forever") only increases the adoration which the public and the media hold for her. A funny inside joke takes place at the awards ceremony following the second film, where the three actresses who were nominated besides Simone all have computer names (Claris Apple, Lisa Packard, and Lotus Corel). A similar joke was to be included in the credits for "Sunrise, Sunset", which unfortunately, was cut from the theatrical release, but is included in the special features of the DVD. As the credits roll, everyone connected with the film other than Simone has the name of a computer or software company. There is also a very humorous sub-plot in which suspicious journalists from a newsmagazine called "The Echo" stalk Viktor in an attempt to uncover the truth about Simone. Certain that Viktor is hiding something, their efforts are marred by one of them liking Simone just a little bit TOO much. Although they collect a lot of "evidence", they overlook the obvious conclusion.
As the deception continues, Viktors lies about Simone begin to take on a life of their own. Gradually, Viktor begins to exhibit signs of schizophrenia, as he provides the voice (suitably modulated by computer) for Simone, and he begins having two-sided conversations with Simone. Eventually, "her" personality begins to diverge from his, and demonstrates the beginnings of independence. Viktor tries to tell the truth to his ex-wife, Elaine (with whom he hopes to reconcile), but when he tells her that he made Simone, she replies "No Viktor, she made you". At this point, Viktor decides it is time to end Simones career, and he makes a film intended to ruin her in the public eye ("I Am Pig"). His plan backfires and the audiences view the film as an emotially moviing work of the highest calibre. He sabotages her appearance on another talk show, making her look something like Courtney Love and having her say controversial, intentionally unpopular things (such as "God created furry animals to be worn"), but nothing he does can make the public dislike Simone. In desperation, Viktor announces that she has died, and subsequently finds himself charged with her murder.
Attempts to clear his name meet with failure, and only the intervention of his computer-savvy daughter save Viktor from certain conviction and likely execution, given Simones popularity.
Al Pacino plays Viktor as an experienced, and perhaps somewhat weary, but brilliant master of his craft. In his mind, the director and the studio makes the star by providing them a means of expression in film. But he feels that stars mock their directors and studios, and so he seizes the opportunity to use someone like Simone to create his masterpieces. Rachel Roberts is absolutely luminous as Simone, and I hope to see her in other films. She is simply amazing. Very high marks also to Evan Rachel Wood, who played Viktors daughter Lainey, smart, cute, and emotionally mature beyond her years. Winona Ryder is great as Nichola Anders, the spoiled star who walks off the set, but returns later to read for a part as a supporting character in a movie with Simone. She does get a chance to show a small sample of her genuine acting ability, and it is impressive.
The film pokes good natured fun at Hollywood and the media, and also makes some good points about the manner in which some stars become almost gods, worshipped by millions of fans, and how people are inclined to make very favorable assumptions about those who they adore.
This was a VERY funny film, full of sly irony, well-written and well-acted, which deserved to do better at the theatres. That it didn't do better is probably because most of the humor is more of a subtle, intellectual sort, and I suspect many of the jokes went over the heads of much of the audience, i.e. many probably just didn't "get" the joke mentioned above involving the names of the other actresses at the awards ceremony. This is not a "National Lampoon" sort of film at all.
Rather, "Simone" is as nearly a perfect comedy as I can recall ever seeing. The only improvement I can think of would have been to leave in some of the deleted scenes (however, I suppose the decision was made to prevent the film from being too long, as it is nearly two hours AFTER being cut. The DVD includes almost 20 deleted scenes, so it would have been a very long film had they not been cut). In addition to the deleted scenes, the special features also includes two trailers, and two documentaries on the making of "Simone", including interviews with Rachel Roberts, and others connected with the film. I am very pleased to have this DVD. Its a keeper.
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