Pacino tries hand at indie film
By Nicole Rodriguez
The first thing you need to know about Miramax's "The People I Know" is that it isn't a great movie, but Al Pacino is great in it and his performance alone makes this movie worth seeing.
Pacino plays Eli Wurman, a New York City publicist who was once the cream of the crop in his field and has somehow become a washed up ghost of his former self. With only one celebrity client (who uses Eli to clean up his messy affairs rather than promote his movies) left in his pocket, Eli sets out to make one last desperate attempt to put together a meaningful benefit dinner, drawing together all of the people he knows to make this event successful.
However, the movie takes an interesting turn when a drug-induced Eli thinks he witnesses what could be a brutal homicide and discovers that sometimes "the worst thing in the world is knowing too much."
An interesting character piece by "West Wing" writer Jon Robin Baitz, "The People I Know" is the kind of movie that requires a charismatic leading man to be successful. Not only is Eli included in every one of this movie's scenes, but he has the added challenge of balancing the fine line between success and failure. Eli is struggling to keep afloat, but we never feel pity for him. We pull for him, but don't know that he can do it all along.
Although we have never seen Pacino in this type of role before, he pulls off the challenge gracefully and turns Eli into a compelling character meeting all of the aforementioned characteristics and more.
Not that this movie is without its own set of flaws. "People" tends to be a bit too talky at times, and director Daniel Algrant ("Sex and the City") seems so infatuated with Pacino and his ability that he forgets to make use of his incredibly talented supporting cast.
In particular Kim Basinger, who finally proved she could act in 1997's "LA Confidential," deserves more onscreen time than she is given. As it is, Algrant makes her into little more than Pacino's eye candy and eventual love interest - a casting choice which is admittedly distracting given the fact that she appears flawlessly beautiful throughout the entirety of the film, while Pacino looks old enough to be her father.
This aside, there is a talented supporting cast boasted in this work, especially a delightfully fun Tea Leoni ("The Family Man") who plays the drug addicted model/call girl who is servicing Eli's only remaining client ("Love Story's" Oscar nominated Ryan O'Neal).
Having debuted at this year's Sundance Film Festival, "The People I Know" isn't the kind of film that will amaze you or even that you'll want to see more than once, but it is interesting and entertaining enough to ensure that you will not be bored throughout its two hour running time.