S1m0ne was a film I approached with great expectations. It had an intriguing premise, the director who wrote the masterful screenplay behind The Truman Show, and Al Pacino. What more could anyone ask? But unfortunately, I came away somewhat disappointed. After Andrew Niccol delivered a scathing assault on the media in The Truman Show, I was expecting him to do the same of Hollywood in S1m0ne. But he hardly ever delivers on his early promise. S1m0ne ranks as one of 2002's greatest disappointments.
S1m0ne comes with an idea not all that far fetched. Not if you take Hollywood mentality into account beforehand. With the amount of money they're willing to invest into special effects houses nowadays, they could theoretically create films made out of sheer special effects alone. A theory put into practise with the likes of The Polar Express and Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.
These are films built on the cutting edge of special effects technology. And since they're so successful in creating entire landscapes and self-contained worlds up on the film screen, is it really that hard to imagine the same of actors too? I don't think it is. Which is why I approached S1m0ne expecting great things. More's the pity then that Andrew Niccol fumbles it, and shatters what could have been a really fascinating film.
S1m0ne suffers from a screenplay that's a little rough around the edges. It feels like it should have gone through a couple more drafts before completion, but instead it was rushed into production. All the more surprising after seeing the succinctness Niccol accorded The Truman Show. Also, where TTS would have been greater still had it not been so short, S1m0ne is the exact opposite. Its way too long. And could have done with a sharper touch, both in editing and in tone.
The film begins with promising angles. Al Pacino plays Viktor Taransky, a harried film director with three box-office flops on his resume. His latest film hardly seems any different, especially when the star walks off the set mid-production because her trailer isn't the biggest.
The project is shelved, and Viktor is fired by the studio head, Elaine (Catherine Keener), who's also Viktor's ex-wife. With his career in doubt, Viktor is paid a visit by a man who offers him a solution, Simulation One.
Why bother directing temperamental, flesh and blood prima donnas, when you can create an actress from digitized pixels and computer code? Simulation One becomes S1m0ne, the world's first CGA. Computer Generated Actress. But what happens when S1m0ne becomes an unexpected success? And more importantly, will Viktor be able to keep up with her popularity, and preserve the deception?
What exactly is missing from S1m0ne? The idea is so fascinating but its execution is so haphazard. It doesn't grow out from its central idea the way The Truman Show did. It never opens itself up to the world of possibilities you sense are buried in the narrative.
S1m0ne is a witty reversal on The Truman Show. Where that was a real man fooled by a world of illusion, this is a real world fooled by an illusion. And while there are cute ideas here and there, S1m0ne simply coasts by. Its too safe as a comedy. Only amusing when it should have been ruthless in its pursuit of laughs. And it seems an idle sleepwalk on Al Pacino's part.
Why Al Pacino agreed to star in S1m0ne is anyone's guess. Viktor Taransky is a role anyone could have played, and Pacino is an actor who could have his pick of any film role. Maybe the filmmakers liked the irony in one of Hollywood's highest paid actors being cast in the part of a struggling director.
I sometimes find Al Pacino an annoying actor. He allows shouting at the very top of his lungs to pass for acting at times. In S1m0ne, he is relatively restrained, and although this may contradict what I've just said, Viktor could have used a little less restraint.
I probably would have liked S1m0ne more if its script had turned with crueller twists. Its the type of film concept you'd imagine the Coen Brothers having a field day with. But in spite of S1m0ne's popularity spiralling out of control, the film never feels like an eruption of chaos. Pacino only seems like a casual observer instead of a harried man at the mercy of this digitized monster he's created.
The film never sinks its teeth into the Hollywood film industry with the savage bite you're hoping for. It gets a few snide jabs in here and there, especially from Winona Ryder doing a remarkable job of sending herself up as a spoilt actress, no doubt in light of her shoplifting scandal. But S1m0ne only simmers. Never crackles.
The film has some glaring plot holes too. How Viktor, who's completely computer illiterate could design and manipulate S1m0ne is really hard to believe. He pulls her strings like a puppeteer, and even creates her in holographic form, but I just couldn't buy into the film's sleight of hand when it came to the details.
Viktor creating a Politically Incorrect S1m0ne has its amusements when her success is too much for him to handle, but the film never twists the knife in enough. And the ending is unbelievable. If it had gone the whole distance, S1m0ne would have had a much sadder ending.
A pity S1m0ne never leaves the launching pad. It only skirts around the themes of media saturation and pandering to the demands of stars and the public. A real wasted opportunity that could have been so much more.
S1m0ne comes with an idea not all that far fetched. Not if you take Hollywood mentality into account beforehand. With the amount of money they're willing to invest into special effects houses nowadays, they could theoretically create films made out of sheer special effects alone. A theory put into practise with the likes of The Polar Express and Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.
These are films built on the cutting edge of special effects technology. And since they're so successful in creating entire landscapes and self-contained worlds up on the film screen, is it really that hard to imagine the same of actors too? I don't think it is. Which is why I approached S1m0ne expecting great things. More's the pity then that Andrew Niccol fumbles it, and shatters what could have been a really fascinating film.
S1m0ne suffers from a screenplay that's a little rough around the edges. It feels like it should have gone through a couple more drafts before completion, but instead it was rushed into production. All the more surprising after seeing the succinctness Niccol accorded The Truman Show. Also, where TTS would have been greater still had it not been so short, S1m0ne is the exact opposite. Its way too long. And could have done with a sharper touch, both in editing and in tone.
The film begins with promising angles. Al Pacino plays Viktor Taransky, a harried film director with three box-office flops on his resume. His latest film hardly seems any different, especially when the star walks off the set mid-production because her trailer isn't the biggest.
The project is shelved, and Viktor is fired by the studio head, Elaine (Catherine Keener), who's also Viktor's ex-wife. With his career in doubt, Viktor is paid a visit by a man who offers him a solution, Simulation One.
Why bother directing temperamental, flesh and blood prima donnas, when you can create an actress from digitized pixels and computer code? Simulation One becomes S1m0ne, the world's first CGA. Computer Generated Actress. But what happens when S1m0ne becomes an unexpected success? And more importantly, will Viktor be able to keep up with her popularity, and preserve the deception?
What exactly is missing from S1m0ne? The idea is so fascinating but its execution is so haphazard. It doesn't grow out from its central idea the way The Truman Show did. It never opens itself up to the world of possibilities you sense are buried in the narrative.
S1m0ne is a witty reversal on The Truman Show. Where that was a real man fooled by a world of illusion, this is a real world fooled by an illusion. And while there are cute ideas here and there, S1m0ne simply coasts by. Its too safe as a comedy. Only amusing when it should have been ruthless in its pursuit of laughs. And it seems an idle sleepwalk on Al Pacino's part.
Why Al Pacino agreed to star in S1m0ne is anyone's guess. Viktor Taransky is a role anyone could have played, and Pacino is an actor who could have his pick of any film role. Maybe the filmmakers liked the irony in one of Hollywood's highest paid actors being cast in the part of a struggling director.
I sometimes find Al Pacino an annoying actor. He allows shouting at the very top of his lungs to pass for acting at times. In S1m0ne, he is relatively restrained, and although this may contradict what I've just said, Viktor could have used a little less restraint.
I probably would have liked S1m0ne more if its script had turned with crueller twists. Its the type of film concept you'd imagine the Coen Brothers having a field day with. But in spite of S1m0ne's popularity spiralling out of control, the film never feels like an eruption of chaos. Pacino only seems like a casual observer instead of a harried man at the mercy of this digitized monster he's created.
The film never sinks its teeth into the Hollywood film industry with the savage bite you're hoping for. It gets a few snide jabs in here and there, especially from Winona Ryder doing a remarkable job of sending herself up as a spoilt actress, no doubt in light of her shoplifting scandal. But S1m0ne only simmers. Never crackles.
The film has some glaring plot holes too. How Viktor, who's completely computer illiterate could design and manipulate S1m0ne is really hard to believe. He pulls her strings like a puppeteer, and even creates her in holographic form, but I just couldn't buy into the film's sleight of hand when it came to the details.
Viktor creating a Politically Incorrect S1m0ne has its amusements when her success is too much for him to handle, but the film never twists the knife in enough. And the ending is unbelievable. If it had gone the whole distance, S1m0ne would have had a much sadder ending.
A pity S1m0ne never leaves the launching pad. It only skirts around the themes of media saturation and pandering to the demands of stars and the public. A real wasted opportunity that could have been so much more.