S1M0NE (2002) 3 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Al Pacino, Catherine Keener, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Evan Rachel Wood, Jay Mohr. Written and directed by Alex Niccol. Rated PG-13.
Illusion can be more potent than reality as the new satire S1M0NE comically demonstrates. Viktor Taransky (Al Pacino) is a down-on-his-luck movie director whose spoiled star (a wicked cameo by Winona Ryder) has just walked out on him, thus derailing his latest effort.
His life a shambles, Viktor is approached by Hank, a computer genius and big fan, who tells him about his latest innovation - a computer program that can create a virtual reality actress who looks and acts like flesh and blood. It's so good, he claims, no one will discern the difference.
Hank dies and leaves his program to the skeptical Viktor who, in desperation, tries it out.
Nine months later, his once-aborted project is a hit and a new star is born - Simone.
Soon Simone is a worldwide phenomenon, featured on the cover of all the leading magazines, talked about and pursued - even though she doesn't exist and no one can recall meeting her. Viktor controls her every action, becoming her spokesman and, through him, all her demands are met.
But like a similar Victor - Frankenstein - Taransky soon begins having second thoughts about his creation.
S1M0NE is that rarity, a movie refusing to cater to mainstream cinematic expectations. In a film such this, the audience would be awaiting for Simone to eventually gain self-awareness, take on a life of her own, escape from Viktor. But not so. The character of Simone stays constant from beginning to end. Her every thought, movement and emotion comes from Viktor.
In a sense Pacino is playing a dual role; that of the director craving recognition who is overshadowed by his star, as well as performing as the puppetmaster of that star. It is a wonderfully satisfying performance and could earn Pacino another Academy Award nomination.
Writer-director Andrew Niccol uses his script to express his dissatisfaction with the Hollywood system and its pampering of actors. Viktor bemoans the changing face of the industry in which the tables have turned on the creators: `We are at their mercy,' he says of actors.
Talking to himself about the expected audience reaction to Simone, he says, `If the performance is genuine, who cares if the actor is real. ... The only real truth is the work.'
Basically, S1M0NE focuses on the tension between art and commerce, between the show and the business. The concept, while not wholly original, takes an interesting twist in Niccol's script.
Because it is Viktor, the man for whom the art was all that matters, who changes. He becomes envious of the attention lavished on Simone and tires of living in her shadow. He yearns for the recognition she is garnering. Unlike the Wizard of Oz, he wants the public to see the man behind the curtain.
Even when he tries to besmirch her image, the ploy backfires.
S1M0NE does show some imperfections. For example, the studio chief, Elaine, who also happens to be Viktor's ex-wife, is too easily convinced of the reality of Simone. As played by Catherine Keener - who in earlier efforts such as Being John Malkovich has shown more of a cynical and skeptical face - Elaine lacks the tough, ruthlessness needed to run a film studio.
As their daughter, Lainey, Evan Rachel Wood, is cute, smart and precocious, perhaps too smart. This is one of those films in which a young person's computer knowledge comes in handy while the adults fumble around for answers.
S1M0NE's satire is not subtle, but it is effective. It's a quirky, off-beat project that, ironically, could be a portend for things to come.
Who knows if one day some disgruntled director, tired of dealing with the demands of spoiled stars, won't sit at a keyboard, punch up some letters and numbers and team James Dean and Humphrey Bogart for his latest opus.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloomjc@yahoo.com or at bobbloom@iquest.net. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on golafayette. Bloom's reviews also appear on the Web at the Rottentomatoes Web site, www.rottentomatoes.com and at the Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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