totalwonder Let me say immediately that I loved it or to be more precise, I loved him in it and by him I mean Al Pacino. An act of generosity a profoundly moving performance. I connected immediately with his disconnection. Al Pacino, through his character, is telling us something personal, something important. Yes, it became personal to me, important to me. How rewarding to be able to say that, to feel that about the work of one of the giants of the XXth Century and counting. Thank you Mr Pacino, thank you very much.

SnoopyStyle Actor Simon Axler (Al Pacino) is losing his mind and falls off the stage. He vows never to go on stage again. He's an insomniac and alone in the world. He misses while trying to shot himself. He gets himself into a clinic with Dr. Farr (Dylan Baker). After getting out, he's visited by a theater friend's daughter Pegeen Stapleford (Greta Gerwig). She has had a crush on him since childhood and is now a lesbian. He has a sexual relationship with her despite being her godfather as various people come to challenge it. There is also fellow patient Sybil who keeps hounding him to kill her husband.Al Pacino shows that he still has it. He never lost it. He just hasn't had big hits lately. Al Pacino is actually good at dead pan humor. The stuff in between isn't as good. Gerwig is playing her usual flaky cute girl. It's a lot of wacky characters. There is a pervasive sadness with moments of great comedic outbursts.

LeonLouisRicci One of the Problems with Al Pacino Films in Recent Years is His Aging. He Looks Old and one is constantly Reminded as He Performs in various Roles of late, just how Old He is Getting and just How Old He Looks.That is Definitely Not a Problem in this one. A Dark Comedy from Director Barry Levinson with a Script by Buck Henry from a Book by Philip Roth. Because, You See, the Character Pacino Plays IS an Old Actor that IS Losing His Grip on His Craft and His Looks are Not Receding, their Lost. It's an Uncanny and Personal Role for Pacino.It's an Odd Movie and Off Beat with an Awkward Rhythm that Comes Together occasionally and then just as quickly Quirks Up and falls Out of Step. That Keeps Things Interesting and the Cast of one Goofy Character after another Helps Things Stay Frosty.Greta Gerwig Co-Stars with Pacino as a Scatterbrained Lesbian that has had a Life Long Crush on the Actor and She Helps the Strange Story along with a lot of Unpredictable Behavior. Overall, Worth a Watch for something Different and to See Pacino Finally Playing His Age. An Arty Film for Lovers of Stage and Screen with enough Gravitas to Entertain Thanks to some Good Performers and some Sharp Writing.

zif ofoz First please read maurice yacowar comments/review of this movie found here with the other comments & reviews. That is a wonderful insight to this complex character Simon Axler and this movie.I'm a fan of Greta Gerwig and her performance of Pegeen Mike Stapleford in this movie is almost as complex as the Simon Axler character. The story and characters seem to drift from reality into make believe into the psychotic and then suddenly back to reality. Where does the real and the imagined start and finish? It's all theatre.This isn't a movie for the soap opera crowd but instead it's for people who want to be absorbed into each character and this cast is just perfect in doing that.Why only 9 stars? I don't know!