SCHWING!

A few years ago I believed that Andrew Niccol would be one of the saviors of modern cinema. After seeing Gattaca, I thought he was a writer/director to be reckoned with. He followed that up with writing The Truman Show; a script so good even Jim Carrey couldn't ruin it. Now Niccol is back writing and directing S1m0ne. While not quite the equal of his other two outings, S1m0ne is damn good film-- full of barbs and jokes at the expense of Hollywood actors and studios. Al Pacino leads up the solid cast as Viktor Taransky, a director on the outs with the Hollywood system. He can not get anyone interested in finishing his film, his main actress walks out, and the studio fires him. His salvation comes in the form of Elias Koteas, a programmer who has perfected the synthespian: a computer generated actor. Simone, an amalgamation of all the great actresses of all time, is the answer to Taransky's dreams. Her rise to fame puts Taransky back on top, but causes him many problems when the public and studio heads can't get enough. The pacing and feel of S1m0ne is very similar to Niccol's previous outings. There is a David Mamet feel of being slightly removed from the characters, yet that seems to be a staple of Niccol's films as well. Many of the inside jokes about the industry are right on the nose, and there are a lot of fun characters played by excellent actors like Jay Mohr, Catherine Keener, Jason Schwartzman, Winona Ryder and Pruitt Taylor Vince. S1m0ne is a fun movie that questions the way Hollywood and its adoring public really works. With the technology of computer graphics getting better every day (Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within) S1m0ne asks us to question if all that we're seeing is really real. I am not sure if Niccol is the savior of modern film yet, but he's got a good track record so far. I think this film is worth paying full price to see in the theater, and if for some reason you haven't seen Gattaca or The Truman Show yet, you owe it to yourself to check out those films as well.