SPOILERS:
I have to say I did not love this movie, in fact I found it just OK. But major Pacino fans should probably see it as Al's as good in this as any of his movies and the film contains other excellent performances.
I'm not gonna go over the plot but will comment on some of the things I found both good and not so good about the movie. First there is Pacino himself and his performance was just fantastic. As usual he disappears into the character and it also helps that the supporting cast is so strong. The other outstanding performance here is Tea Leone who really wowed me. I have seen her in many movies and she's been OK in some, good in others but here she really commands the screen. And it's a real departure from the type of roles I've seen her in.
Ryan O'Neil was great. Bassenger's character was a breath of fresh air and her performance could be described in one word: Luminous. The cast was great.
And so was the story at times and that's what makes "People I know" a rather frustrating movie experience. I was really involved in the story but it doesn't go anywhere and that is the main negative. All through the movie one kind of waits for something that never happens. A culmination maybe, a coming together of plot points. But the movie, while ending very brutally which is kind of expected, just sort of fizzles out. After it ends it is kind of disappointing as there is so much that feels unfinished and unexplored.
The cinematography and moodiness is great. This movie is about the night, and you feel it in the movie's dark and muted imagery which is perfect to heighten the mood. The world weariness of almost every character in the movie was also captured to perfection. One can feel how tired Pacino's character is. It's an involving story and not always predictable either. There are several times what you think will happen does not happen(at least until maybe a scene or two later).
And one really does have to admire the ending in a way. It does not go the route of the predictable and sweet. Instead it stays bitter and dark. And even though the ending feels kind of inevitable( my friends and I kind of figured this would not have a happy ending) the route it takes still manages to surprise.
So there's a lot of positives. But in spite of the acting, in spite of the story and realistic feel, I just was disappointed overall. The story was complex and more would have been good to fill in some of the blanks. The whole thing also seemed to be leading to some type of showdown or major culmination at the event and that really didn't happen. By the end you can kind of tell Pacino's character isn't gonna survive( the telltale kiss with Bassenger-that looked more like a farewell then a promise) and the ending was just sort of flat. It was also disturbing but that's to be expected in a film like this. But with this cast, this story and the fact that the movie was relatively short it seems something more could have been done with this to leave the viewer more satisfied at the end overall. There was so much meat to the story and yet it just felt so unfinished.
So I'd give this a 6.5 out of 10 and recommend it to all major Pacino fans. This movie kind of reminded me a bit of "Sea Of Love" even though the stories are completely different but the feel of the movie is somewhat similar. This isn't my favorite Pacino movie but it is one I am glad to have seen and any Al fan should take a look.
I have to say I did not love this movie, in fact I found it just OK. But major Pacino fans should probably see it as Al's as good in this as any of his movies and the film contains other excellent performances.
I'm not gonna go over the plot but will comment on some of the things I found both good and not so good about the movie. First there is Pacino himself and his performance was just fantastic. As usual he disappears into the character and it also helps that the supporting cast is so strong. The other outstanding performance here is Tea Leone who really wowed me. I have seen her in many movies and she's been OK in some, good in others but here she really commands the screen. And it's a real departure from the type of roles I've seen her in.
Ryan O'Neil was great. Bassenger's character was a breath of fresh air and her performance could be described in one word: Luminous. The cast was great.
And so was the story at times and that's what makes "People I know" a rather frustrating movie experience. I was really involved in the story but it doesn't go anywhere and that is the main negative. All through the movie one kind of waits for something that never happens. A culmination maybe, a coming together of plot points. But the movie, while ending very brutally which is kind of expected, just sort of fizzles out. After it ends it is kind of disappointing as there is so much that feels unfinished and unexplored.
The cinematography and moodiness is great. This movie is about the night, and you feel it in the movie's dark and muted imagery which is perfect to heighten the mood. The world weariness of almost every character in the movie was also captured to perfection. One can feel how tired Pacino's character is. It's an involving story and not always predictable either. There are several times what you think will happen does not happen(at least until maybe a scene or two later).
And one really does have to admire the ending in a way. It does not go the route of the predictable and sweet. Instead it stays bitter and dark. And even though the ending feels kind of inevitable( my friends and I kind of figured this would not have a happy ending) the route it takes still manages to surprise.
So there's a lot of positives. But in spite of the acting, in spite of the story and realistic feel, I just was disappointed overall. The story was complex and more would have been good to fill in some of the blanks. The whole thing also seemed to be leading to some type of showdown or major culmination at the event and that really didn't happen. By the end you can kind of tell Pacino's character isn't gonna survive( the telltale kiss with Bassenger-that looked more like a farewell then a promise) and the ending was just sort of flat. It was also disturbing but that's to be expected in a film like this. But with this cast, this story and the fact that the movie was relatively short it seems something more could have been done with this to leave the viewer more satisfied at the end overall. There was so much meat to the story and yet it just felt so unfinished.
So I'd give this a 6.5 out of 10 and recommend it to all major Pacino fans. This movie kind of reminded me a bit of "Sea Of Love" even though the stories are completely different but the feel of the movie is somewhat similar. This isn't my favorite Pacino movie but it is one I am glad to have seen and any Al fan should take a look.