I saw People I Know today. What a waste of time. This is a shitty movie with a shitty script, shitty acting (including Pacino, who seems to have little or no belief in the character he's playing) and dull dialogue. In addition, the story is boring, full of clichés and uninteresting. It's no surprise that People I Know was released directly on videotape. I like Al Pacino, and I've never seen him in a really bad and stupid movie. Until today.
shareI'm curious to know why you think this is such a bad movie, apart from what you call shitty acting and dull dialogue? Sure, this is no Donnie Brasco or Godfather, but the difference between Pacino's character in this movie and all his other flicks is that he has no character, no soul and no ethics, and in my opinion is a very difficult character to portray. Make-up can make an actor look old (a la Godfather III), but it takes a great actor to convince viewers that he's a weak, pathetic and broken man, especially from an actor with such energy and charisma.
The plot isn't great but then a lot of great movies (and I'm not calling this movie great) have very limited dialogue (Star Wars anyone?).
As for your assertion that you haven't seen AP in a bad and stupid movie, then I suggest you rent Dick Tracy and then you'll see some scary sh*t!!
As for why he did this movie, I can only guess that it looked better on paper than on the screen, and maybe he's plain bored with portraying loud, brashy hoo-ah kinda guys. Either that or he was looking for a tax-break ;-p
I'm not trying to have a go at your comments, as I've seen posts that are far more inflammatory for no other reason than to piss people off, but I suggest you watch it again and focus only on Pacino's performance.
[deleted]
"More or less I agree.
Worst Pacino I've ever seen though is in Heat. (It amazes me how such a superficial film is no.246 here - what a waste of the 2 actors!!!)"
Are you sure you're talking about Heat, my friend?...If you do, please watch it again...it's an action movie so don't expect a lot of psycho drama...but it's one of the best action movies in the last 10, no 20, no 30 years....EVER,DUDE,EVER
Just try to focus on the small details that allows the movie to go on for 2 1/2 hours...then we'll talk again
hey, Son of Elvis, back off Dick Tracy. Not only is that movie great, but Al is great in it (hell, he even got an Oscar nomination for it!).
People I Know was pretty woeful, and Pacino's dull-as-dishwater performance (along with Basinger and O'Neal) didn't help.
Tea Leoni was the only bright spot.
Well, I only felt one thing when this movie was finished. I felt cheated. There is alot of things happening during the course of the movie. Usually, those things are getting to a conclusion. But, no, it's not even left open to interpretation. The movie just end, as if they were no more ideas to builds on.
Why create a story which is of really little interests if you aren't even going to try to make some of it's elements evolve.
What with the relationship there, what with the movie, what with the killing? All it is in the end is a unthrilling thriller which doesn't really have much to offer... A really pathetic character study with very vague dialogues.
i think this movie is okey, the difficulty with this movie is that it is supposed to describe the carelessnes in the media world, the cycle of the life in fame and the life in the shadow, therefor it is very hard to express the message. beacuse then the movie would contradict it´s own message. Still with me? the story would maybe fit better in a book. But Pacino makes an very underestimated perfomance. I think he is great in this movie
sharei saw this movie today. i thought it was going to be a detective story and while i was waiting for him to solve the case the end credits rolled up. What the hell was it about!!!???
share
i think this is a good movie. Al pacino demonstrates a man who knows enough about the world and who has some virtues to follow when he is sticking around , at the end he just dies.
thank you... what was very smart... did u ever stop to think that maybe everyone hasnt seen the movie? I dont know if its just me, but "at the end he just dies" that kinda takes away the whole exitement about wathing it...
Let out some steam, Bennet!
but WHY are you guys sooo damn empty...?!
this one is a beautiful black movie!
The only movie I wish I hadn't seen Pacino in is S1mone. That one stunk up my DVD player good. From a humanity standpoint, it was completely soul-less. And from technological standpoint, it was just plain wrong.
shareWell I just saw this movie tonight. I have to echo the sentiment. What a waste of time and talent! It's as if reality based dramas have lost all sense of originality, and filmmakers are just making movies for filmmaking's sakes. Art isn't even involved here. The slow crank camera work that turns the picture upside down at the very end of the film is so poorly executed it reminds me of Hong Kong cinema.
All things aside, that Handspring PDA standing in for a Nintendo handheld isn't such a bad idea. The color scheme really works far better than the China made ones in toy stores. Although adults would be inclined to find out what qualifies a Handspring as a toy when there clearly aren't any worthwhile games on it!
I just seen this movie 2 days ago and i thought it was great especilly for a low buget film Al Pacino's character Eli is Great too
Movies need us and we need the Movies ©
This film is a character story, it has no plot. It is a story. It is the story of a broken man, past his prime, in ill health... and rather pathetic actually. He is trying to do one last good thing, and there are always complications. The death of that actress wasn't some lame plot element where Eli would end up solving the case... it's all about the corruption of the media/Hollywood/people with power, which ultimately drives him to see what he has been doing (The last good thing was really about exposure) and decide that he is going to go and live with his brothers widow.
***SPOILERS BELOW***
Then the sad thing being that before he can actually go away with her, he gets killed in suck a sad way. This is about Eli no one else, i can't understand why people were disapointed with such a good character story. (Pacino was awesome in this)
I concur with you in all Gary-399. This is an excellent character movie. Looks like there are people in this forum that consider themselves film critics simply because they have seen many movies.
shareListen, I don't care whether such and such character is beautiful/well played/unique in their drugged up stupor. The point is that this movie has an incomplete plot, a great many different plot aspects were started, and NONE of them were finished.
There are a few reasons to explain this. First off, it is directed by Robert Redford, a guy who has lived the past-his-prime-celebrity-in-a-constant-drugged-up-stupor lifestyle. Pretty much only celebrities with pet democrat causes (like redford) can relate to this; so the bottom line is that he made a movie for himself, we just saw it, hence the low budget. Also, the reason for such a horribly "abstract"(the best possible word to describe a horrible movie) movie is that it was trying to make a statement, the statement is that celebrities are a bunch of corrupt drugged up narcissists. Everyone else knew/knows this except for these poor dip celebrities. This film is a product of redford's growing pains.
I'm not absolving this movie, I'm rationalizing it. However this film, this excrement of redford's awareness should have been flushed down the toilet rather than put on screen. I feel robbed by having watched this.
[deleted]
"No soul or ethics"? Michael Corleone killed his brother, y'know.
shareI think the empty, incomplete feeling we are left with at the end of the film is wholly suitable to the message of the film, and the feelings within the character.
As for Pacino's decision to accept this role, I think he should be again commended. In the Pacino/De Niro debate, Pacino will always win for me, in no small part due to his choice of roles. This was no "Meet the Parents" ironic-type role which would generate popular interest, with a budget probably not substantially more than his early films like "The Panic in Needle Park".
...and he went the whole film without shouting! Whoo-ah!
(BTW: Robert Redford did not direct this film, but he did produce.)
Redford is the Executive Producer. For the full meaning of this movie check out Yggdrasil's review at: http://home.ddc.net/ygg/cwar/piknow.htm
Pi
I thought this was a fantastic movie. Pacino's characterization
was right on the money, no superficial bull, but you can see that
he really studied this human being who has so many contradictions
and is struggling to make his life work. Just because there are
no fancy effects or a lot of sex doesn't make a bad movie -- in fact,
that's what makes it good!
As for the comment about Redford - it is not his 'excrement', it is
show business's excrement and the astute observation of the writer,
director, producer, and actors concerning it. I bet they loved making
this movie just to expose the real crap that goes on in Hollywood/NY.
See 8MM for another great film that does this.
I loved this film.
couldn't agree more. this is a horrible movie, on every front. pacino's acting was terrible, his accent was worse, the dialogue was uninteresting, there was literally almost no plot, and it seemed to me like the person who made this movie was some ny publicist or something who thought a movie about their life would be interesting, but it wasnt. some are saying "pacino was brave to take on such a role" well being brave is one thing, but being stupid is another, pacino tried to play a role that he couldn't do. he was ill suited for this role. there was nothing even inventive or original in this movie. whoever produced such a crappy movie as this should be shot. whoever actually thinks this movie is a good movie should be cut up to little pieces. that is all.
jake
"Which is it, is man one of God's blunders or is God one of man's?"
Friedrich Nietzsche
I agree with Gary-399: This is a character film. The "toy" and the movie itself are just vehicles for Al's character. Al Pacino is opposite himself in this role, and it proves his greatness again. Just because he doesn't shoot anybody doesn't make it a bad movie. I like the way this movie portrayed the tired old man, too tired to even think about sex. I think many Pacino fans would like this to have been the first half an hour of a big thriller, but I think that's what makes it special.
shareeven as a character film, it fails, to me at least. a good character film is American Splendor. there really isn't anything interesting about Pacino's character and again his acting and accent was pretty horrible.
jake
"It's a madhouse! A madhouse!" - charlton heston, planet of the apes
(SPOILER) I think most of you are missing the point of the movie. basically the point of the movie is to show the viewers that there is simply No point in the media/politics world we live in today (or at least a really *beep* point). it all comes down to the last scene, where I think the movie explains itself, we find Pacino dead in his chair, but the world around him simply carries on without ever noticing (they´re talking about him on T.v) thats what I think the movie tries to explain: the emptiness that surrounds us all in our fast pace lives.
shareagain, the movie still fails even with that theme. i've seen much better movies, that were much better made, basically conveying the same theme. there is nothing anyone can say to redeem this movie. it simply was poorly acted and poorly made. there's a reason its rating is like 5 something.
jake
"It's a madhouse! A madhouse!" - charlton heston, planet of the apes
Excellent analysis. Right in the money.
shareI cannot agree more . I saw this movie last night accidently on cable and for the life of me what was on Pacino's mind to make this movie. Is he trying to get money for his kids to gain a college education. To me Pacino is today's greatest actor but sometimes his talent for picking film material just makes me wonder where his mind is. Witness Simone,another dreadful film. Al took time off in the '80's to get it together after a couple of flops. Al take some time off and get yourself back into the groove please.
shareI love the way that whenever someone actually stands up and defends this movie, they get told that they should be cut up into little pieces (several posts back, in case you're wondering). It's a great big tolerant world we live in, huh? Actually not dissimilar to the feelings expressed by Richard Schiff's character in the film.
Now I was somewhat surprised by the film. I knew going in that it had met with bad reviews, had been buried by the studio and so disappeared down the plughole. But, while it's got some glaring flaws, it's still a provocative and interesting film. And despite his variable accent, I thought Pacino did a very effective job at playing a man who's completely burnt out and knows it only too well.
I'm a big fan of 70s movies - the kind that take their time to build character and tell a quietly involving story. I don't think it's a coincidence that one of the best of this type - Alan J. Pakula's "The Parallax View" - is a poster in Al Pacino's office. Nowadays we're so used to MTV style editing, high concept movies and flashy special effects. I found it really refreshing to see that this one was more interested in weaving an intricate tale. Not entirely successfully, but at least they tried.
people should be cut up and killed and necropilia raped if they like this movie. I love Al Pacino. He is by far my favorite actor, but I will admit when he makes a *beep* movie. And by God he did here. The only entertaining part was his "quote" about the inflamed pustule and urban *beep* and things like that.
shareI hate this movie because it is so *BEEPING* my life!!
The accent was whack throughout, sometimes Al really pushed it, then sometimes, it was barely there....
I was unable to suspend my belief of the character, all I saw was an actor trying to assume a role.
Maybe another actor would have been a better casting choice than Al.
Relax people, this is a movie about Real-Life which, NEWSFLASH!, most of the time, ain't so interesting, something hard to imagine with the easily bored MTV generation...
With that all said, the 5.5 rating I'd say is accurate, it's only average.
All I can say is I didnt really like the movie.
"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse." Don Vito Corleone, The Godfather
Isn't all necrophillia rape? Someone can't consent when they're dead, unless they wrote it into their will or something. Now that'd make a good movie.
shareI'm just laughing my ass off since I was on my way to make a topic for this movie with the exact same title. CHRIST! What a load of elitist socialite bourgeosie tripe! Talk about a way to cut down on demographics! WHo exactly does this movie appeal to? Rich famous people who've gotten involved with animals or children sexually and need a way out?
Al...you've done so much that's good, this can easily be overlooked. I'm right now in the play Book of Days, and I absolutely loathe the play. I think it's absolute dog crap. I understand :)
[deleted]
al pacino is a graet actor and he can play many different roles.I agree that he'd better not play thius role,but it is obvious that he played very well.because this role was not so difficult for him.
share