S1M0NE

S1M0NE (vt SIMONE). Andrew Niccol, dir., script, prod. USA: New Line Cinema, Niccol Films (prod.) / New Line Cinema (US release), 2002 (© 2001). Al Pacino, star.

Satire with romantic comedy, plus one S.F. novum ("one big lie"). Combining Pygmalion with Galatea (directly referenced in a visual) and Dr. Victor Frankenstein creating his Creature (referenced indirectly in one speech), Al Pacino's Victor Taransky uses a computer program left him by a dying and now dead genius to create S1m0ne/Simone, the ultimate super-star actress. If Niccol's script for THE TRUMAN SHOW (q.v., this section) shows one real character trapped in the world's largest TV set, then S1M0NE gives something of the reverse or inverse: a hyper-real simulated human in our world. If part of the point of THE TRUMAN SHOW is that Truman escapes only to Hollywood, not the real world, one can see a similar point made in S1M0NE, where authenticity is possible but rare.

5. DRAMA, RDE, 24/XII/03