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People I Know (2002)

** (out of 4)

Press agent Eli Wurman (Al Pacino) is trying to get together a big benefit but other things in his life starts to cause problems. His one client, actor Cary Launer (Ryan O'Neil) asks him to get a hooker (Tea Leoni) he knows out of jail and this here leads to some dark corners of the city involving some high ranked officials. PEOPLE I KNOW pretty much got released without any fan-fair and it's easy to see why because even with an A-list cast the thing just never really comes together. I think the biggest problem with the picture is that the screenplay simply has way too many subplots and none of them are very interesting. I think the film was trying to show how much stuff this agent has going in his life but the only problem is that the majority of it isn't all that interesting. This includes his relationship to his dead brother's widow (Kim Basinger), his needing this party to be a success and of course the stuff dealing with the hooker. The story here is certainly on high speed as all sorts of things are going on but when you don't care about any of them it's hard to get too invested in the film. The only thing that keeps the film interesting are the performances with Pacino leading the way. I thought he was pretty laid back here and this really helped the performance. In this era the actor was known for the screaming and so on but that doesn't happen here and I found him to be very believable in the part. Supporting players Basinger, O'Neal, Leoni, Richard Schiff and others are also very good in their parts. The film is a thriller but there just aren't enough thrills to make it worth sitting through. It's really too bad the performances are wasted in a film where they deserved much more.

Jon Robin Baitz, the writer of this film, needs to check his facts a little more carefully. The story, as I perceived it, takes place in today's New York with today's personalities of the moment.

At one point of the film when Eli Wurman, played by Al Pacino, is talking to his widowed sister-in-law, Victoria Gray, and he asks her if she remembers when they had marched in Selma? Helloooo Mr. Baitz, how old is Victoria supposed to be? I made her out to be in her early 40s. Now, wouldn't that have been a miracle? The only way she would have been around Selma at the time of the march on that city would have been in the womb of her mother, if that was so! Well, then again, I could be wrong, she really is in her late 60s!

This film tries to do too many things; it goes in all directions without making sense, most of the time. The idea of presenting the Eli Wurman of Pacino, who was obviously gay, playing against a straight woman is laughable. Even more ridiculous when the one making the passes is a beautiful woman like Ms. Bassinger, in wild contrast with this washed out person.

Mr. Pacino might be a great actor. He has given us many interesting and diverse characters that will be cherished by all his fans, but lately, he has appeared in a series of duds that one wonders who is the person behind his decisions, since many of his choices haven't added any substance to his body of work.

This Eli Wurman, being compared to the Burt Lancaster's character in Sweet Smell of Success by many critics, kept reminding me of the Clifton Webb's tragic role in The Razor's Edge. This Eli has seen better days and no one cares about him at all.

The subplot having to do with the cause Eli is working to promote racial justice to people being deported, sounds empty and not true. It shows a side to this character that deep down inside all he cared for in his life was being at the right places, surrounded by the same celebrities he stooped to serve.

How about the other aspect of the film about the rich, possible would-be-sponsors of the cause, as libertines and swingers in an opium den on a Wall Street club? Is that supposed to be a metaphor? Oh well, I guess some of us, so out of touch with the powerful people of New York, will never know what we are really missing in those "fun" places.

Furthermore has "People I know" nothing to offer. The writing was very messy and the characters aren't very well written as well. The movie is a mess and a huge disappointment. There are some other famous names relied to this movie, except from Pacino. Kim Basinger and Ryan O'Neal (the guy we now from "Love Story") are also starring this movie, as well as Téa Leoni.

What the director was trying to say wasn't bad, the point he wanted to make was good, but the way he has done it wasn't good at all. I don't see why Al Pacino has chosen to play this role, but as a true Pacino fan, I think this was the worst movie I've ever seen him in.

Not exactly worth watching.

5/10

Inspired by the SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS and THE BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES, this labour of love is the sort of film made for New Yorkers by New Yorkers. While not being particularly fresh in it's ideas and story, PEOPLE I KNOW more than makes up for it's short comings due in large part to another strong turn by Al Pacino.

Pacino is surprisingly gentle and small as a has-been impresario who is desperate for one last benefit to do some good in the city. Why exactly this benefit means so much to him is never really explained but Pacino, with that wonderful expressive face of his, is content to carry the drama with subtly and grace, using those great bags under his eyes to convey a sense of pleading exhaustion throughout the film. In many scenes, his character seems so fatigued that we expect Pacino to expire on the spot, so heavy is the burden of his life lived as a heel.

The script, by New York playwright Jon Robin Baitz, knows it's world well, as demonstrated by the excellent lead characters and the numerous small, but equally well conceived characters that pepper the screenplay. Plot-wise the Baitz's script is less than successful. The screenplay suffers from two well-meaning maguffins - Pacino's big benefit and the `toy' Tea Leoni finds - which don't really pay dividends and lead the film to a somewhat flat finale.

The direction by SEX IN THE CITY helmer Daniel Algrant is unobtrusive and safe, with no real effort made to assemble this film in anything higher than TV movie quality. Algrant is content to keep attention on his cast, which - when dealing with Al Pacino - is never a bad idea.

Don't pay that much attention about all the bad comments you will hear: this is a very interesting movie.

To sum up, Al Pacino is an agent for all kind of people: stars, politicians... Therefore, he knows a lot of people and way too much about them. Now, the problem is that to many spectators the movie seemed empty. True there is no action, and true there is no big storyline. But it doesn't matter! This movie is about describing the "high spheres" of New York society. It is a good lesson on how corrupted the system is, how hypocrite people can be, and how you can't rely on anybody, even so-called friends. Everyone will turn his back on you when it comes to his own interest.

Al Pacino acts great in this movie. It's a very hard part since there is no real guideline, but he does the job wonderfully. You will see an OLD Al Pacino, a TIRED Al Pacino, that might disappoints you if you remember him as the lively and shouting "mister Devil's Advocate", but it's an interesting side of him that you might discover.