Al Pacino, Rachel Roberts, Catherine Keener

Interesting idea, mediocre realization, Pacino’s (standard) top acting… According to me, that would be a brief description of this title.

Plot? Everyone is crazy about the mysterious, beautiful and talented Simone, the new lead actress of the almost-failed director Victor, who gained incredible popularity among the audience shortly after her appearance.

But none of the fans or colleagues can see her, meet her in person… Everyone is convinced that the director is deliberately hiding her from the public for some selfish reason, and that’s somewhat true. After all, he is personally responsible for her popularity.

He’s actually forced to hide it! Reason? Simone is a computer program (as her name indicates, written with ‘ones & zeroes’ in title 😉) that Victor just happened to get as a gift from a deceased programmer – a fan of his films. The gift was literally a ‘salvation straw’ that will save his career from ruin.

Bloopers? Simone’s voice sounds very strange and unreal, digital… So is it realistic that whole world follow her interviews without paying attention to that obvious detail?

Another terrible detail in the second half of the film, when Victor’s ex-wife sneaks around the beach house, and he surprises her with a greeting. Anyone normal would at least swung backwards, and most people would jump away from an unexpected voice behind their backs. Surprise factor acted at the dead horse level.

But those are all minor mistakes that aren’t in focus. The focus is on Al Pacino in a more casual edition, and his obsession with virtual heroine, whose character he is shaping by his imagination.