"Gattaca" was easily one of the best science fiction films of the past decade. "The Truman Show," which Andrew Niccol wrote (but Peter Weir directed) was also pretty fine. With those two accomplishments under his belt, I was very interested to see what Niccol could do with the premise of a virtual star, with its potential for biting satire and deep social commentary.
Unfortunately, "S1m0ne" is just a mess from beginning to end. According to IMDB, this is supposed to be a comedy? It never occurred to me that this movie was supposed to be funny, although a few of the moments could be interpreted that way if you were feeling charitable. (Finding out that Simone's casket contained a cardboard cutout of her could have been an okay gag, I guess.)
The film's messages were hopelessly muddled. On the one hand it seemed to be saying that, yes, Taransky was right and actors should be tools by which the director realizes his vision, since he never achieved success until he created Simone. On the other hand, Simone is a terrible actress and Taransky is clearly just a hack with delusions of grandeur, so the other (almost diametrically opposed) point is that people will fall for mediocre junk, and apparently the more mediocre it is, the better they like it. Clearly Niccol also thinks he's saying something profound about the lines between reality and fantasy becoming blurred, as well. Who knows what his point was?
Every plot twist is telegraphed way in advance (for example, when you saw Taransky's daughter typing on a laptop, you just knew she would later be involved in rescuing Simone), the depictions of technology are ludicrous, the art direction was just weirdly anachronistic without any seeming point, and aside from Pacino, the acting is uniformly wooden. (Or is that supposed to be a clever commentary on how working in Hollywood turns you into a zombie?) I hate to say it, but "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" was a better send-up of Hollywood, and that flick was hardly great cinema!
I'm glad I didn't pay money to see this film. Well, no more than I already pay for the premium channels on my satellite, anyway. I think what's so frustrating about "S1m0ne" for me is how much potential the premise had, and how much Niccol threw away. It's just sad.
Unfortunately, "S1m0ne" is just a mess from beginning to end. According to IMDB, this is supposed to be a comedy? It never occurred to me that this movie was supposed to be funny, although a few of the moments could be interpreted that way if you were feeling charitable. (Finding out that Simone's casket contained a cardboard cutout of her could have been an okay gag, I guess.)
The film's messages were hopelessly muddled. On the one hand it seemed to be saying that, yes, Taransky was right and actors should be tools by which the director realizes his vision, since he never achieved success until he created Simone. On the other hand, Simone is a terrible actress and Taransky is clearly just a hack with delusions of grandeur, so the other (almost diametrically opposed) point is that people will fall for mediocre junk, and apparently the more mediocre it is, the better they like it. Clearly Niccol also thinks he's saying something profound about the lines between reality and fantasy becoming blurred, as well. Who knows what his point was?
Every plot twist is telegraphed way in advance (for example, when you saw Taransky's daughter typing on a laptop, you just knew she would later be involved in rescuing Simone), the depictions of technology are ludicrous, the art direction was just weirdly anachronistic without any seeming point, and aside from Pacino, the acting is uniformly wooden. (Or is that supposed to be a clever commentary on how working in Hollywood turns you into a zombie?) I hate to say it, but "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" was a better send-up of Hollywood, and that flick was hardly great cinema!
I'm glad I didn't pay money to see this film. Well, no more than I already pay for the premium channels on my satellite, anyway. I think what's so frustrating about "S1m0ne" for me is how much potential the premise had, and how much Niccol threw away. It's just sad.