Simpatico (1999)

23% of critics liked it
(60 reviews)
17% of users liked it
(1,092 ratings)

Old rivalries lead to new betrayals in this Sam Shepard drama with comic undertones. Vinnie (Nick Nolte) and Carter (Jeff Bridges) have known each other for years, but their relationship has grown less than cordial. Many years ago, the two men, along with Vinnie's girlfriend Rosie (Sharon Stone),… More Old rivalries lead to new betrayals in this Sam Shepard drama with comic undertones. Vinnie (Nick Nolte) and Carter (Jeff Bridges) have known each other for years, but their relationship has grown less than cordial. Many years ago, the two men, along with Vinnie's girlfriend Rosie (Sharon Stone), were making good money in a con game at a racetrack until Simms (Albert Finney), the local racing official, got wind of their ruse. Vinnie and Carter hatched a blackmail scheme that ended Simms' career and ruined his life. Years later, Vinnie is an alcoholic low-life who still makes a living from blackmail; Carter is now a successful horse breeder, married to Rosie, and Vinnie has incriminating information about him that he uses to get Carter to pay his living expenses. Carter gets a call from Vinnie one night as he's finalizing the sale of his prize-winning stallion Simpatico; Vinnie is in jail on a morals charge regarding a woman he's been seeing named Cecilia (Catherine Keener). Vinnie makes Carter an offer: if he comes to California to help him out of this mess, he'll hand off the documents that he's been using against him for years. Carter agrees, but when he arrives, it turns out that Vinnie's not in jail, Cecilia has filed no charges against him, and this is just part of a larger scam with Carter as its target. Director Matthew Warchus made his screen debut with this film; he also adapted the screenplay (in collaboration with David Nicholls) from the play by Sam Shepard. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 46 min.
Directed By: Matthew Warchus
Written By: Matthew Warchus, David Nicholls
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Drama

In Theaters: Dec 17, 1999 Wide
On DVD: Aug 22, 2000
Studio: New Line Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Dennis Harvey, Variety
Warchus' accomplished handling and the stars' flavorful performances lend Simpatico a bittersweet grace.
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
A movie hobbled by unwieldy visual ideas.
Charles Taylor, Salon.com
Warchus seems as at ease with the complexity of the style as he is with directing actors.
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice
It's a shame Nolte and Bridges weren't cast as brothers, because the two have similar rumpled-suede faces and irritated-bark delivery.
James Berardinelli, ReelViews
Instead of permitting its characters to be developed naturally, Simpatico manipulates them to fulfill the needs of its heavy-handed plot.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
The movie is so careless about its horse-selling subplot that its melodramatic payoff feels cheap and abrupt.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
With the cast and the pulpy neo-noir storyline, one would never suspect that the film is the crushing bore that it is.
Amber Wilkinson, Eye for Film
This is an engaging movie, which shows its theatrical origins, both positively and negatively.
Jeffrey Westhoff, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
Nolte and Bridges have too much talent to play their uninspired characters.
Brent Simon, Entertainment Today
The film might as well be called Stagnant, because precious little of emotional consequence for the audience happens.
Amber Wilkinson, Eye for Film
When it comes to extras, the trailer is just that, the scene selection is static and the featurette somewhat pointless.
Chuck Rudolph, Matinee Magazine
Nolte and Bridges are naturals together.