People I Know (2002)

Director:

Daniel Algrant

Writer (WGA):

Jon Robin Baitz (written by)

Release Date:

21 November 2002 (Peru)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

He thought he'd seen it all, until the night he saw too much

Plot:

A New York press agent must scramble when his major client becomes embroiled in a huge scandal.

Plot Keywords:

Actor | Benefit | Politics | Bail | Conspiracy

Cast

Al Pacino	...	Eli Wurman
Kim Basinger	...	Victoria Gray
Ryan O'Neal	...	Cary Launer
Téa Leoni	...	Jilli Hopper
Richard Schiff	...	Elliot Sharansky
Bill Nunn	...	The Reverend Lyle Blunt
Robert Klein	...	Dr. Sandy Napier
Mark Webber	...	Ross
Eldon Bullock	...	Washroom Attendant
Juliet Papa	...	Radio Announcer (voice)
Ramsey Faragallah	...	David Fielding
Brian McConnachie	...	Jamie Hoff
Frank Wood	...	Michael Wormly
Rex Reed	...	Himself
Lewis Dodley	...	Himself

Also Known As:

Der innere Kreis (Germany) (video title)
Im inneren Kreis (Germany)
Influences (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
La noche del crimen (Argentina) (Mexico) [es]
Eyewitness (Finland) [fi]
Gente Conhecida (Portugal) [pt]
O Articulador (Brazil) [pt]
Oi anthropoi pou xero (Greece) [el]
People I Know (Italy) [it]
Relaciones confidenciales (Spain) [es]

MPAA:

Rated R for language, drug use and brief sexual images.

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA (TV rating) | Brazil:14 | Iceland:12 | USA:TV-MA (TV rating) | Argentina:13 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R | Philippines:R-18 | Canada:14A

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Myriad Pictures

Trivia:

In the trailer, a poster for The Parallax View (1974), can be seen behind Al Pacino.

Quotes:

Eli Wurman: I look like Dracula's Uncle Morty from Kiev. Oh man, I should be embalmed.

Movie Connections:

References "ABC News Nightline" (1980)

Soundtrack:

JMP

FAMILIAR NEW YORK STORY

Inspired by the SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS and THE BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES, this labour of love is the sort of film made for New Yorkers by New Yorkers. While not being particularly fresh in it's ideas and story, PEOPLE I KNOW more than makes up for it's short comings due in large part to another strong turn by Al Pacino.

Pacino is surprisingly gentle and small as a has-been impresario who is desperate for one last benefit to do some good in the city. Why exactly this benefit means so much to him is never really explained but Pacino, with that wonderful expressive face of his, is content to carry the drama with subtly and grace, using those great bags under his eyes to convey a sense of pleading exhaustion throughout the film. In many scenes, his character seems so fatigued that we expect Pacino to expire on the spot, so heavy is the burden of his life lived as a heel.

The script, by New York playwright Jon Robin Baitz, knows it's world well, as demonstrated by the excellent lead characters and the numerous small, but equally well conceived characters that pepper the screenplay. Plot-wise the Baitz's script is less than successful. The screenplay suffers from two well-meaning maguffins - Pacino's big benefit and the `toy' Tea Leoni finds - which don't really pay dividends and lead the film to a somewhat flat finale.

The direction by SEX IN THE CITY helmer Daniel Algrant is unobtrusive and safe, with no real effort made to assemble this film in anything higher than TV movie quality. Algrant is content to keep attention on his cast, which - when dealing with Al Pacino - is never a bad idea.