By all accounts, Simpatico should have been a great little thriller.  It’s written by modern master playwright Sam Shepherd.  The cast has 11-count ‘em-11 Oscar nominations between them.  And best of all, it’s about gambling and con games, which are two of the most sure-fire themes you can have for an engaging dramatic thriller.  Just ask David Mamet.

    However, Simpatico, as those with any degree of ability to recognize a bad review when they read one can guess, is not a great little thriller.  It is not great, it is, at over two hours, not little, and it is not much of a thriller.

    Nick Nolte and Jeff Bridges play Vinnie and Carter, two former buddies who split up shortly after an undisclosed horse racing con several decades ago.  Lowlife Vinnie, living in alcoholic squalor in California, calls Carter out of the blue claiming he’s going to be arrested.  Carter flies out to Vinnie’s rescue, but Vinnie runs off to visit the guy they screwed over because, er, it all gets a bit unclear from there.

    Plot twists start showing up, but none of them make too much sense, because the characters are never fully established.  They’re all pretty one-dimensional, underwritten parts that give the actors nothing to deal with.  Only Catherine Keener and Albert Finney, as Vinnie’s girlfriend and the former head of the racing association, come off with dignity intact.  Third-billed Sharon Stone shows up an hour into the picture, managing to contribute nothing to nothing.

    By the end of the movie when the final “con” is revealed (if you’re still awake), you may find yourself yelling “That’s IT?” at your screen.  Wallowing through two hours of film paced like a wet slug’s nap schedule should at least be rewarded with a decent conclusion, and Simpatico’s is terminally weak.  It’s a dull, dreary way to spend a night of your life.  (On the plus side, Stuart Copeland’s score is quite good—well-paced, tense and memorable.  Exactly the opposite of Simpatico.)