''Simpatico'' is a 1999

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

co-written and directed by

Matthew Warchus Matthew Warchus (born 24 October 1966) is an English theatre director, playwright, and filmmaker. He has been the Artistic Director of London's The Old Vic since September 2015. Early life and education Warchus grew up in Selby, North Yorkshir ...

and starring

Nick Nolte Nicholas King Nolte (; born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. Known for his leading man roles in both dramas and romances, he has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. Nol ...

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He is known for his Leading actor, leading man roles in film and television. In a career spanning over seven decades, he has received List of awards and nominations received by ...

Sharon Stone Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress and film producer. Known for primarily playing femmes fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the ...

Catherine Keener Catherine Ann Keener (born March 26, 1959) is an American actress. She has portrayed disgruntled and melancholic yet sympathetic women in independent films, as well as supporting roles in studio films. She has been nominated twice for the Academ ...

and

Albert Finney Albert Finney (9 May 1936 – 7 February 2019) was an English actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked in the theatre before attaining fame for movie acting during the early 1960s, debuting with '' The Entertainer'' ( ...

. It was adapted for the screen from the 1994 play '' Simpatico'' by

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American playwright, actor, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned half a century. He wrote 58 plays as well as several books of short stories, essays, ...

Plot

Three young

confidence trick A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence, irrespons ...

sters— Vinnie, Carter and Rosie — pull off a racing scam, substituting winners for plodders and winning big money on long odds. When an official uncovers the scam, they set him up for

blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...

. Twenty years later, Carter and Rosie are married, successful racers in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

about to sell their prize stallion, Simpatico. Vinnie, meanwhile, is a drunk in Pomona. Vinnie decides to make a play for Rosie, lures Carter to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, steals his wallet and heads for Kentucky with the original blackmail material. Carter begs Vinnie's friend, a grocery clerk named Cecilia, to follow Vinnie and recover the material that he has in a box.

Cast

as Vinnie Webb **

Shawn Hatosy Shawn Wayne Hatosy (born December 29, 1975) is an American film and television actor and director. He is best known for his roles in the films ''In & Out (film), In & Out'' (1997), ''The Faculty'' (1998), ''Outside Providence (film), Outside Pro ...

as Young Vinnie Webb *

as Lyle Carter *

as Rosie Carter ** Kimberly Williams-Paisley as Young Rosie Carter *

as Cecilia *

as Simms

Reception

The film was not well received by critics.

References

External links

* * * 1999 crime thriller films 1999 films American crime thriller films Films set in Kentucky French films based on plays English-language French films French crime thriller films British films based on plays British crime thriller films American films based on plays Films with screenplays by David Nicholls (writer) Films scored by Stewart Copeland American neo-noir films 2000 directorial debut films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films 1990s British films 1990s French films 2000s French films English-language crime thriller films {{crime-thriller-film-stub