One could consider S1m0ne as an attempt by writer/director Andrew Niccol to comment on the over-importance of actors in movies today, the amazing advances in technology, and the gullibility of the general public (or sheep, as one of my friends calls us). Indeed, that’s just what I would consider this to be. Plus an extremely funny film and another in an long line of excellent performances by Al Pacino.
I’d also give props to Evan Rachel Wood as Pacino’s daughter and Pruitt Taylor Vince as a tabloid publisher who gets emotionally involved in the target of his story. Though not credited for her efforts in the film, model Rachel Roberts plays the title character quite well, though Niccol obviously used technology to change her appearance and voice to a certain degree. Honestly I’d say that Roberts looks better than the digitally enhanced s1m0ne.
The important thing for me, though, is that this is a really funny movie. Lots of density, as I like to call it, where every frame is used to add a laugh if it isn’t need to advance the story. For example, Pacino sets up a meeting for the co-stars of s1m0ne’s second movie, gets them all seated around a table (his office is beautifully decorated with antiques, by the way), and then tells them that the star will only speak with them by phone. He gets them started introducing themselves, runs off, and just barely gets into place when she needs to speak. Niccols also draws his characters very broadly, playing well on stereotypes and audience expectations–the studio executive, the police detective, the sleazy journalists, the unthinking adulation of audiences.
This makes for an interesting sequence of films for Niccols with which to open his career. The first movie he wrote was The Truman Show, then he wrote and directed Gattaca (recently named number two in Wired’s SF Top 20), and then this one. All three explore questions of identity in a technological world. (Note that although Gattaca was released first, it was written second due to the time needed to put the Truman Show deals in place. Niccols wanted to direct the Jim Carrey picture but couldn’t convince the studio and had to hand it to Peter Weir.)
Definitely recommended
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