Released in 2002
7/10
Genre- Science fiction (Sci-fi), Comedy
Main Cast: Al Pacino, Rachel Robert, Catherine Keener
and Winona Ryder
Screenplay: Andrew Niccol
Direction- Andrew Niccol

Al Pacino and Rachel Roberts in “Simone 2002”

BRIEF INTRODUCTION The story revolves around a struggling filmmaker Viktor (played by Al Pacino) who casts a computer program “Simulation One” as the leading actress, “Simone” (played by Rachel Roberts) for his film. After the film’s release, Simone becomes a huge sensation and starts attracting more and more attention due to her unavailability in any and all public appearances. This generates a lot of mystery around Simone and Viktor because Viktor is the only person knowing about Simone’s whereabouts. How long will Viktor be able to hold the truth and what is the future of Simone in the industry, forms the second half of the film.

LONG INTRODUCTION The story starts with a talented but rather unaccepted filmmaker, Viktor struggling with the leading lady Nicola (played by Winona Ryder) of his next project over some unnecessary tantrums of the actress. And as much as he tries to please her with the best resources on the sets, the more she insults him and finally refuses to do Viktor’s film, leaving it in between.
To get the production going, Victor needs another actress but fails in doing so. In the meantime, a computer geek, Hank (played by Eleas Koteas) shows up to Viktor and recommends him an undoable and strange idea of casting an artificially intelligent computer program as the leading actress in his film. On hearing it first, Viktor dismisses it completely but desperate times, desperate measures so, he starts working with the computer program. And, in a series of experiments with “Simulation One”, Viktor modifies it several times and develops it into a very talented actress (a virtual actress) “Simone” (Sim. One) with all the nuances, expressions, and acting skills of the best actresses in the industry.
Now, with all the modeling and remodeling done, Viktor includes Simone in the film and makes her do all the acting with the help of a built-in simulator in the program. The film gets released, becomes a huge hit at the box office with Simone becoming the newest sensation in the industry and not just for the looks but for her performance, she even wins two Academy Awards in the film. Now starts the real drama, with Simone being a virtual actress and not an actual human being generates a lot of curiosity in the industry and the audiences because of her unavailability at any public appearances. Simone, more than a convenience, now becomes a pile of problems for Viktor and he obviously can’t answer much. So what will happen next, will Simone sustain in the industry, and will Viktor be able to hide the truth for long, all these questions form the second half of the film.

Winona Ryder and Al Pacino in “Simone 2002”

The Movie Being a huge fan of Andrew Niccol’s work, starting right from his directorial debut “GATTACA 1997” or his story work in “The Truman Show 1998″, his films always deliver something unique, something extraordinary, ahead of time. Although I have some disappointments regarding “Simone”, but I want to appreciate Niccol’s vision for the film. The story feels promising and futuristic, especially now, that we are living in the times of technologies like AI, VR, and AR, for a 2002 film, I regard “Simone”, as an ahead-of-its-time film. Story-wise, incorporating the idea of virtual characters/artists in the film’s casting in the early 2000s was something out of the box, just the presentation could have been better.

P.S. The concept of “Simone 2002” has served as an inspiration for different films and series based on a similar idea.