Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageSimpatico (1999)
Director: Matthew Warchus
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Nolte as a grumbling, obsessed, drunken bum; Bridges as an affluent dude cursed by conscience to help out an old chum in trouble with the law; Stone steaming elegantly over a wok of bad faith and best booze; Finney as an ageing king of the racetrack - what director wouldn't give his eye teeth to bring them together on screen? Warchus gives all four the space to breathe in this adaptation of Sam Shepard's play - all five, in fact, as Keener gives the stars a run for their money as Nolte's new girlfriend. Carter (Bridges) is nowadays a thoroughbred trainer surrounded by his acres of Kentucky stud while his wife Rosie (Stone) paces their mansion or rides her favourite mount. She's a fool for love, an apex of an old triangle with Vinnie (Nolte), a man still drowning in the past while living a fantasy life as an LA private eye. The film slowly pulls the three back together, and in so doing gives themes of betrayal, friendship, identity and the longevity of emotional scars a thorough workout. As an elaborate depiction of consequences, the drama has nowhere to go but backwards. Nevertheless, Warchus brings great confidence and relaxation to the direction, catching that quality in Shepard of non-judgmental distance that can seem like melancholy.Author: WH
Cast & crew
Director: Matthew Warchus
Producer: Dan Lupovitz, Timm Oberwelland, Jean-François Fonlupt
Cast: Nick Nolte, Jeff Bridges, Sharon Stone, Catherine Keener, Albert Finney, Shawn Hatosy, Kimberly Williams, Liam Waite full cast
Duration: 106 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now