Review of People I Know (2002) by Andy F — 06 Mar 2005

[i]People I Know [/i]is one of those movies that you never really recognize how good it is until later on when the story catches up with the terrific performance from the lead, which is why most of us are even watching the film in the first place. From beginning to end Al Pacino is absolutely perfect and controls every little bit of a film that starts slow and weak but wakes up more and more as it all unfolds.

Pacino plays a well known New York publicist named Eli who we are introduced to at a point in his life and career when he seems to have a very small handle on things. The manneurisms and perfectly practiced southern accent he brings to the role make us grateful he became this character fully, for if not the fim just wouldn't be what it is. I truly believe this to be one of the greatest performances Pacino has ever delivered and will definitely be one his most overlooked (as was his performance in the masterpiece [i]The Insider[/i]) as the years go by. Hungry to gather anyone extremely wealthy to attend a benefit in his name, the film chronicles a 24 hour period of time leading up to the festivity as he weaves and hallucinates through a series of bizarre incidents.

Tea Leoni, Kim Basinger, Mark Webber, Bill Nunn, Richard Schiff, and Ryan O'Neal all do a fine job in their roles, but once again the elevation of the film overall goes back to the legendary Pacino who hasn't been at the top of his game like this in a long time. Give the film some time if you're kind of skeptical in the beginning, it slowly sneaks up on you throughout and by the end has you tightly absorbed and standing beside and caring for Eli.