Running time: 117 minutes
Starring: Al Pacino, Rachel Roberts, Winona Ryder, Catherine Keener, Evan Rachel Wood, Elias Koteas, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Pruitt Taylor Vince
Rating 6 out of 10
After years in the wilderness, veteran director Viktor Taransky (Al Pacino) is poised for his big comeback with the epic romance, Sunrise, Sunset - a heart-rending tale of doomed love pairing leading actress Nicole Anders (Winona Ryder) and rising star Hal Sinclair (Jay Mohr). Unfortunately, the film project falls through when the temperamental diva starlet storms off set, claiming her trailer is too small in comparison to her B-list co-star. Viktor is unceremoniously fired by his ex-wife and movie studio head, Elaine Christian (Catherine Keener) and ostracised by his peers. He can see no way back - not in an era when Hollywood studio heads bend over backwards to accommodate the petty demands of big name actors, at the expense of the quality of the finished picture.
More importantly, the cancellation of Sunrise, Sunset also scuppers any hopes of a reunion for Viktor, Elaine and their precocious teenage daughter Lainie (Evan Rachel Wood).
Stripped of his self-respect and disenchanted with the film business, Viktor crosses paths with former associate Hank Aleno (Elias Koteas), a terminally ill computer genius who claims to have invented the perfect virtual reality actor. Viktor dismisses Hank's assertions as mere fantasy and rebuff's the idea of casting a computer generated actor in the lead role of a big budget film.
When Hank passes away, Viktor inherits the inventor's state-of-the-art technology and he is dazzled by the revolutionary software. With a few key strokes, he gives birth to "Simone" (Rachel Roberts), a VR actress with the looks of a goddess and the acting talents of a young Meryl Streep, named after the software which gave birth to her: Simulation One.
The enigmatic beauty quickly becomes the cause celebre of Hollywood when Viktor casts her as Nicole's replacement in Sunrise, Sunset and she is tipped to scoop the Best Actress Oscar. As interest intensifies in the mysterious "Simone", fuelled by the investigations of a sleazy tabloid journalist (Pruitt Taylor Vince) and his cameraman assistant (Pruitt Taylor Vince), Viktor finds it increasingly difficult to hide the truth about his leading lady, until he is faced with the unthinkable: killing off "Simone". But how do you murder someone who doesn%u2019t exist?
Writer-director Andrew Niccol, who previously penned The Truman Show, invents a horribly plausible premise, which mercilessly pokes fun at the inner workings of the movie industry. The star of S1M0NE is the ultimate director's fantasy: an actress who does all of her own stunts, doesn%u2019t need a body double, has no problem with nudity, and can be dressed and made-up in a matter of seconds. If technology, as featured in the film, truly exists, then the age of $20 million pay cheques for lead stars will soon be over.
Thankfully, for the crème de la crème of Hollywood, much of "Simone"'s performance is down to real-life model turned actress Roberts, so perhaps the age of VR actors is a little way off yet. While Niccol's script is often uncomfortably spot on with its depiction of the shallowness of the film world, it doesn%u2019t always draw blood, and the blackly humorous twist ending is sign-posted far too early.
Pacino is suitably world weary in the lead, becoming increasingly excitable and impish as his daring plan gathers momentum. Keener and Wood offer strong support, Roberts is strikingly beautiful, and the VR sequences are stunning, but like its pixellated heroine, S1M0NE lacks an emotional heart.
