S1m0ne (2002)

Plan: After his demanding starlet walks off the set, Viktor Taransky (Al Pacino) must find a new actress to take the lead in his latest film. When his ex-wife, Elaine (Catherine Keener), fires him and he realizes that no actress will work with him, Viktor is fortunately willed a computer program that will allow him to create the perfect actress. Seeing her as a means to an end, Viktor uses the program to finish his beloved project and is shocked to discover that no one has noticed that his new star, Simone (Rachel Roberts) isn't real. Simone quickly becomes immensely popular with the press and the public, and Viktor struggles to control the elaborate web of lies he has created.

Ooo, and Evan Rachel Wood plays their daughter! Isn't that great? It is.

Andrew Niccol (writer/director) has really lost me on this one. See, the films within this movie look a lot like, well, Niccol's dispassionate take on a dystopian future, Gattaca. As you well know, I really like Gattaca.

So what is he saying? I didn't get the impression that he felt that he has been misunderstood because he couldn't completely manipulate his performers. I don't think that was it at all.

Honestly, what is he getting at? Is he satirizing his previous works (G and The Truman Show)?
All three of these movies are about something that is completely under the control of someone else. Is Niccol a control freak, or is he trying to tell us something?

Also, every scene that takes place in the studio or on the lot is complete barren. I always got the impression that studio/lot places where bubbling over with stressed people running to and fro, but there's no one around at all. I gave me the creeps, and I have yet to fully comprehend the significance of that choice.

Enough.

Let's talk about Keener. I just love her. She's hilarious, and she has a oddball sexiness to her that's irresistible.

I don't even think that Pacino acts anymore. I realize that much was made about Angels in America, which I have yet to see, but I honestly think that when he arrives on set, there is a sharp intake of breath. Maybe there just isn't enough out there anymore to really challenge him. On the other hand, I'm dying to see his take on Shylock.

I can tell you that this movie isn't all that good, and I'm not even sure that I would want to see it again anytime soon. I can tell you, though, that I'm pretty sure I didn't get it. The fact that that doesn't particularly concern me strikes me as a problem.