Customer Reviews
"There are other studios, there's only one Simone." - By: DangermouseZilla, 03 Nov 2008 
A film director becomes disillusioned with an ever increasingly fake industry that insists he abandon his art to pander to every whim of an actress, even though she isn't great - she's just the biggest name in `the biz'.
This film portrays the unhealthy obsession that the media & many of its followers have with celebrity - perfectly summed up with the radio news headline: "escalating violence, tragic loss of human life, & the threat of alll out war was overshadowed today by the announcement of the Oscar nominations".
The satire & unabashed attack on the shalllow world of Hollywood is a welcome one - the film manages to have a dig at the falseness of Hollywood in an often humorous way. Pacino is (as you'd expect) on fine form as the director who manages to dupe the world by using a computer generated actress in his films. The frenzy over `Simone' starts to overshadow his work, & once again the art is lost under a tidal wave of celebrity-worship.
In a nutshell: This film has something to say, & for the most part it says it well. Unfortunately the supporting cast don't seem to have much presence, & the film takes a nosedive into a predictably obvious romantic ending which hinged on a moment which was a bit too convenient (reminded me of the film moments when someone has to hack into PC & after simply guessing a few times at the password & manages to `crack' it).
To be honest though, the romantic ending is the ending you want, & the film pokes fun at something which *needs* fun poked at, & Al Pacino is mesmerising to watch. All this makes for a watchable film, but the less great aspects hold it back from being a great one.
Overlooked minor classic - By: Pete, 07 Mar 2008 
This movie was ignored when it was released. All the reviews that I read harped on about its logic, & then gave it a three out of five review. I wasn't expecting too much, but I loved it.
The logic works well enough not to bother me. You just have to suspend your disbelief no more than with your average action film.
It's a great idea for a movie. If you don't find the central idea interesting than it's probably not your type of movie.
They filmed it a lot more stylishly than they had to. There's a real visual flash to this understated comedy. Perhaps it helps if you're not expecting it to be a laugh out loud comedy. It's not exactly subtle, more just reserved like the sitcom Seinfeld.
I've seen it about six times now & I think it's a classic. It's not a romantic comedy, but it's not completely dissimilar to one.
Also the sight of Al Pacino running is very funny. And the newspaper editor is a great comic creation. The way he delivers the line about having dirt on Mother Theresa, but then she died so there was no point publishing it, is a great moment.
Farce Played Straight - worth a watch - By: Paul T Horgan, 04 Mar 2008 
I saw this movie before I knew that it was directed by the maker of Gattaca. Finding this out afterwards, it alll made sense. The film, as you may know from the other reviews, is about a director bequeathed a piece of software that alllows a perfect simulation of a human to be computer generated. Then, thanks to modern CGI technology, this simlulation can be inserted into a film to play seamlessly opposite flesh & blood players.
This is another of those 'what-if' films - think of Gattaca, Groundhog Day, Multiplicity & Primer where a concept is explored to its logical conclusions in an intelligent & sometiumes witty way.
The problem with this film is that most of it is concerned with the Pacino character concealing the central fact (that his star is not real) from the increasing tide of media & public interest, an interest that he himself created because he used his skill as a film director to create the ultimate film star, a star that the public will worship & adore irrespective of what it says or does, because of the ultimate perfection of its creation. This is not in fact Frankenstein, it is Pygmalion.
Because of this we see Pacino rushing around alll over the place trying to create a reality of the star's existence & conceal the central truth, which is farcical, but this film is not shot like a farce. And that is the problem. This is a farce played straight. And Pacino does not do farces. However the concept is so importent that if it was made into a farce, with say, Jim Carrey, then it would lose its impact in a cheap sell-out way.
So here is the essential conflict of the film. It deals with a high concept in a high concept way but there is an unwanted element of comedy that is trying to break out. The director should have tried to make it more po-faced than it was, but then would it have got past the studio execs?
A film by Hollywood about Hollywood will always be under the cosh as the wizard tells us to pay not attention to the old man behind the curtain. This is why this film is flawed.
Having said alll that it gets 4 stars because it is is well-made & deals with a serious topic in an intelligent fashion even it it does not know what it is meant to be. It is perhaps because of this schizophrenia that the film was not well received. But it is in fact worth a watch.
Not bad - By: Charles Gosling, 29 Oct 2007 Simone, is an enjoyable & watchable film. However the film did feel a bit ordinary inspite of its basis. It had many familiar ingredients - the failing film director, the unhappily divorced couple, the super smart teenage daughter, etc. Certainly watchable, just not outstanding, Simone is gorgeous though.
SIMULATION ONE - SIMONE - By: stuart, 19 Aug 2007 I've always been a sucker for films about film-making or films about other films. These little treats have always supplied my thirst for knowledge about this magical process, & when done right, they often hold a significant satirical value as well. Andrew Nicole's S1m0ne is an excellent example of this genre - obtaining the perfect limbo between mocking Hollywood, & admiring it.
Al Pacino is Viktor Taransky, a movie producer whose main star has walked out on him just as his new project begins filming. In his desperation, he turns to the world of digital film-making - creating a fictional movie star with the help of state of the art technologies. However, this bold move proves itself awfully risky once the film is released, & its virtual "star", named Simone, becomes an overnight success. Taransky soon finds himself in a moral dilemma with no simple answers. Should he keep "selling the dream" in the traditional Hollywood manner, or should he bite the bullet & come clean?
Andrew Nicole's following to his debut film Gattaca continues its predecessor's job as a social study rapped up as a Hollywood picture. Pacino excels as well, this time as a family man whose scheme rapidly loses control & quickly faces reality. Only question now is - who will blink first?
