mattiasflgrtll6 Viktor Taransky is a director who is very ambitious about his work, but both critics and the audience think his movies are awful. The only reason he still makes money is because of his main star. But when the spoiled actor Nicola quits (who is in all of his movies), he has to get a new one. That turns out to be more difficult than he expected, but one day a mysterious figure approaches him and offers up an unusual solution: a computer generated woman...Al Pacino has a few underrated movies under his belt, and this is one of them. It kinda is a science-fiction comedy, except it interestingly enough is not as far from reality that you'd think. Considering how much technology has advanced and that there already have been several instances of fake "actors" used in movies (like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator: Salvation), who knows when this actually might become a reality?The funny thing is that even with his new star, Taransky doesn't seem to accomplish what he wishes for: that people recognize the MEANING of his work, not just the face of them. It's a great satire on how shallow media has become, that stardom and popularity is all that matters, not movie making itself. The obsession goes so far that he gets pressured to make her really appear in front of everybody, which causes problems. The comedy in this movie is well-executed, but if you are looking for non-stop belly laughs this is not where you'll find it. It's very dark, and sometimes the jokes are uncomfortable and sad at the same time as they are funny. You really do feel sorry for Taransky, and Pacino does an absolutely wonderful job playing him. I know this is not his most popular movie, but his performance was Oscar-worthy. The acting from everyone else is mostly, you know, fine. I do however really like Rachel Roberts as Simone, who has a few very funny moments. You can almost understand why she would draw attention, she has that face you don't forget.There is quite a bit of drama as well, maybe more so than there is comedy. But it's done very well, and Taransky struggling with getting recognition in life and juggling his relationship with ex-wife Elaine and manufactured Simone makes for some heartfelt moments. The dialogue is well-written, almost poetic at times. And the way this movie ended was nothing short of perfect.I'd say it's very good, in spite of the low rating and negative reviews. This movie won't suit everyone, and might make some people confused or frown. But I suggest you give it a chance if the premise interests you and you want something out of the ordinary.

Deckard-16 With the thought of another Niccol film due out this year I decided to catch up with this movie on cable.After catching it I wondered how the heck did I passed on it in '02? This is a really fine & entertaining movie that makes fun of Hollywood so pointedly that I doubt that Niccol can get financing from inside the industry town.The premise of a director who sees himself as Terrence Malick 2.0 tiring of working w/ actors who demand that all the red M&Ms be removed from their Jackson Pollack painted 8-wide trailers who creates a virtual no demand actor is really no longer science fiction. In 2011 that can be done.Writer-director Andrew Niccol takes this premise, builds upon it & runs with it in very smart & funny ways. It proves that "Gattaca" & (his screenplay for) "The Truman Show" are not exceptions."S1mone" is not nearly as earnest as those 2 works. It shares their way above average intelligence, but is a lot funnier. In its 3rd act it exposes itself as a farce. If you accept this then you'll love this movie. If you wanted it to take the more tragic tone that it plays with then you'll be disappointed.Oh, the movie stars Al Pacino in fine form that is not virtual --I think.

honorhorror Though not repeatedly heard, writer/director Andrew Niccol is really talented in incorporating societal topics into his movies in shocking ways. Basically, his works worked because the concepts he played with are well implemented and fertilized by him.From Gattaca to Truman Show, to S1m0ne, sci-fi is not something only Lucas and Spierberg can handle, although these guys are always interested in telling you their visions for the future are not cheap. The concepts behind S1m0ne can be considered impossible to realize in the real world because anyone with any computer knowledge would know to digitally fabricate a role and incorporate her into the real production footages would take 100 computer engineers and days of work to render each frame...... And, in the movie Simone only needed Al Pacino's solo job to do the motion-detection, dubbing and everything, using one PC. Of course this is a joke, but again anyone paying too much attention to that missed the point of the movie, that medias produce idols, idols made money and made the line between reality and illusion blur. In this crazy logic yet again accepted by most of us in the public, we can't laugh all the comedic characters portrayed without looking at ourselves. And frankly speaking, Niccol always knew how to end a movie in a satisfying way. S1m0ne is not an exception, that just when everyone thought the story will go in the logically-favored direction, it turned to be better.You need a good director to master someone like Al Pacino, and that means certainly not averagely-good, but really good. Before S1m0ne, I always thought Pacino only fits either outrageous roles or traumatic roles or both. But S1m0ne proved he can also be as funny as Jim Carrie. Given all the chaotic and idiotic situations in the movie, Pacino pretty much held true to his outrageous and traumatic nature but pulled off one of the best roles in his career. Robert Deniro, Dustin Hoffman both had similar roles in a similar genre(Wag the Dog and What Just Happened) and none of their performances can match Pacino's. Besides, S1m0ne really made What Just Happened looked like amateurish work.Al last, as the movie's rating kept dropping for years, the ideas in it actually are approaching us. I am looking forward to director Niccol's next project. Keep it up Mr Niccol!

rock_rishab I mean i still cant believe it was an Al Pachino movie, and how in the holy hell did he even take this shitty script. Simone was a simulation even in real life, I mean come on, she wasn't even hot. Winnona Ryder was not better then her... please!!!!!!!!!Its full of mistakes both technological and non-technical.I don't mind the idea behind the film but, I do mind the movie. It was just plain old bad.Every one going gaga over Simone was also very unrealistic, especially without a base....People spare this film and yourself. You just might get a wrong conception about Al after this.And please I really do not find "Rachel Roberts" hot.