S1m0ne (Andrew Niccol, 2002)

Before I watched this film, all I knew was that it featured Al Pacino in the role of a director who creates a computer-generated actress. That short premise intrigued me − it sounded like it would be some sort of science fiction film but with Al Pacino, which would be an unusual pairing.

However, in the first half of the film I realised that I had a different expectation of what this film would be. It was definitely not a science fiction and in fact, the plot seemed very uninspiring. After problems with his lead actress, (played by Winona Ryder), director Viktor Taransky (Al Pacino) ends up being given a computer program which enables him to create a virtual actress. This eliminates the need to pander to any of the demanding and egotistic real life actors he despises and allows him complete control of his leading lady. Taransky creates “Simone”, an attractive yet mysterious actress who captures the attention of the world. Now around this time I was thinking that this was really just in fact a story about an animator − having computerised actors in films is not exactly novel nowadays. (And even at the time this film was made, 2002, computer generation and animation was present in films. As a sidenote, I found it surprising to see the use of a floppy disk in the film − it really highlights the rapid evolution of technology that makes relatively recent films suddenly outdated).

 

However, this virtual actress becomes much more than a character, as her influence extends the screen. Audiences are fooled by her life-like appearance and Taransky sees no reason to extinguish the attention Simone has gained by admitting she is just a computer program. So we see the film become the comedy it was marketed as, with all sorts of comedic scenes exaggerating the impact of Simone-mania as it sweeps the world and she gains iconic status. As people become more attached to Simone, Taransky digs himself into deeper problems by devising elaborate methods of presenting Simone (telling people she is agoraphobic and her live interviews have to be done remotely, for instance).

At this point, you start to wonder how S1m0ne will end. Effectively Taransky has fooled the world about the existence of Simone and he can either come clean or get away with it. I was anxious to see how the film would end as I personally knew that if his fraud was revealed, the film would leave a sour taste in my mouth.
Anyway, the film was a “deeper” story than I imagined − we see Taransky become obsessed with Simone. As he says to another character, “I made her”, to which they say, “No Viktor, she made you” − a line which I think sums up the concept of this film perfectly. The most shallow part of this film is Simone herself, your typical bottle-blonde plastic starlet. However, I somehow too became enchanted by her eerie yet somehow alluring character (skilfully played by Rachel Roberts).

So while a summary of this film may appear to present a plot this is a little lacklustre, the film certainly draws you in further and reveals its complexities, ultimately, making for entertaining viewing.

3.5/5