j_bowling slightly better than crocodile dundee in los angeles, the worst movie i've ever seen. i'll give pacino the benefit of the doubt that perhaps he was trying to make a boring character interesting, but the experiment failed miserably. the accent itself was awful, but it was such a bizarre one that he slipped in and out of it several times throughout the movie. the ending was unequivocally the most obvious and flat out uncreative conclusion i've ever seen. it was so bad i couldn't believe that's how it actually ended. but mercifully, it was over. ***spoiler alert*** given how the movie ends only exacerbates the suspension of reality the plot asks us to take when the thug searching the hotel room doesn't bother to look in the bathroom. the movie should have ended right then and there. too bad it didn't.

triple8 SPOILERS:I have to say I did not love this movie, in fact I found it just OK. But major Pacino fans should probably see it as Al's as good in this as any of his movies and the film contains other excellent performances.I'm not gonna go over the plot but will comment on some of the things I found both good and not so good about the movie. First there is Pacino himself and his performance was just fantastic. As usual he disappears into the character and it also helps that the supporting cast is so strong. The other outstanding performance here is Tea Leone who really wowed me. I have seen her in many movies and she's been OK in some, good in others but here she really commands the screen. And it's a real departure from the type of roles I've seen her in.Ryan O'Neil was great. Bassenger's character was a breath of fresh air and her performance could be described in one word: Luminous. The cast was great.And so was the story at times and that's what makes "People I know" a rather frustrating movie experience. I was really involved in the story but it doesn't go anywhere and that is the main negative. All through the movie one kind of waits for something that never happens. A culmination maybe, a coming together of plot points. But the movie, while ending very brutally which is kind of expected, just sort of fizzles out. After it ends it is kind of disappointing as there is so much that feels unfinished and unexplored.The cinematography and moodiness is great. This movie is about the night, and you feel it in the movie's dark and muted imagery which is perfect to heighten the mood. The world weariness of almost every character in the movie was also captured to perfection. One can feel how tired Pacino's character is. It's an involving story and not always predictable either. There are several times what you think will happen does not happen(at least until maybe a scene or two later).And one really does have to admire the ending in a way. It does not go the route of the predictable and sweet. Instead it stays bitter and dark. And even though the ending feels kind of inevitable( my friends and I kind of figured this would not have a happy ending) the route it takes still manages to surprise.So there's a lot of positives. But in spite of the acting, in spite of the story and realistic feel, I just was disappointed overall. The story was complex and more would have been good to fill in some of the blanks. The whole thing also seemed to be leading to some type of showdown or major culmination at the event and that really didn't happen. By the end you can kind of tell Pacino's character isn't gonna survive( the telltale kiss with Bassenger-that looked more like a farewell then a promise) and the ending was just sort of flat. It was also disturbing but that's to be expected in a film like this. But with this cast, this story and the fact that the movie was relatively short it seems something more could have been done with this to leave the viewer more satisfied at the end overall. There was so much meat to the story and yet it just felt so unfinished.So I'd give this a 6.5 out of 10 and recommend it to all major Pacino fans. This movie kind of reminded me a bit of "Sea Of Love" even though the stories are completely different but the feel of the movie is somewhat similar. This isn't my favorite Pacino movie but it is one I am glad to have seen and any Al fan should take a look.

Dylan Cross The only good thing about "People I Know" is that it serves as a perfect example of movies that Al Pacino should avoid performing in. The first big turn-off I had was the way in which Pacino tried to portray a Georgia accent; at times it was weak and unattractive while in other segments it seemed too overdone. Dialogue and character interaction was terrible along with a weak plot. The supporting cast did an extremely perfunctory job in keeping the movie interesting, and within an hour I still saw no signs of a sturdy plot. The story overall is a real bore, and I had to slap myself in the face a few times to keep myself awake.This movie will surely bore you as well...avoid at all costs.

johnjredington Forget about the plot. This is all about one man's private torment as he hangs onto relevance on the fringes of showbiz. Al Pacino gives perhaps his greatest performance of all as he combines sleaze, cynicism, self-indulgence, obsession and self-deprecation and yet manages to retain a flicker of integrity in spite of the cesspit of decadence that is about to engulf him. Most of the nicer sides of life are totally absent from this world-weary tale yet, when the odd little bit breaks through, it is surprisingly touching. Even as Pacino disintegrates and you know for certain that there won't be a happy ending, you're almost on your feet cheering him on in the face of adversity. Worth watching just to see the master in action and, as an added bonus, a small but beautifully sympathetic appearance by Kim Basinger.