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'Antitrust' has a lot of N.U.R.V.
This film is set in a corporation all too reminiscent of recent antitrust newspaper headlines. But its plot isn't nearly as inventive as its main character's software.
By PHILIP BOOTH
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 11, 2001
[Photo: MGM]
Ryan Phillippe, left, stars as Milo Hoffman, a brilliant young programmer who goes to work for billionaire corporate head Gary Winston, played by Tim Robbins, in Antitrust.
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First things first. Any resemblance between boyish, Pringles-crunching, Pacific Northwest-based, philanthropic billionaire software-company honcho Gary Winston (Tim Robbins) in Antitrust and Microsoft head Bill Gates is, uh, "purely coincidental," according to the press notes.
In the spirit of paranoia that informs this uneven, contrived Gen Y thriller, it's probably important to clear that up. Hey, Bill, director Peter Howitt and screenwriter Howard Franklin (Someone To Watch Over Me) aren't implicating you or your company. Okay?
Howitt, the British-born filmmaker who made his debut with 1998's far more impressive Sliding Doors, leaves London behind for the West Coast, a corridor of high-tech industry that still feels like a Brave New World. Artsy, creative kids once upon a time formed bands in their garages. Now, as N.U.R.V. Corp. head, Winston suggests in one of many disingenuous, self-serving declarations, any kid in a garage with smarts, talent and drive could foment a digital revolution and, not incidentally, scare up a load of cash along the way.
Milo (Ryan Phillippe) and his best friend, Teddy (Yee Jee Tso), razor-sharp programmers and recent Stanford University graduates, are attempting to do just that, in the form of a start-up company -- Skullbocks -- devoted to the technology of convergence, a method of linking together computers, televisions, telephones and wireless devices.
Teddy, a sweet reminder of '60s political sensibilities, is defiantly anticorporate. "They just want to own everything," he complains about N.U.R.V., an acronym for the concern's motto, "Never underestimate radical thinking." Milo, though, isn't quite so sure, and he soon succumbs to a plum job offer from Winston, ditching his pals and leaving town with artist girlfriend Alice (Claire Forlani).
N.U.R.V., of course, is working on a project similar to that of Milo's old team, and the endeavor is set for launch in just 42 days. "Synapse will fully unite the global village," Winston spouts, in television advertisements and in front of his programmers, none of whom seem to be older than 30.
For Milo, it's a dream job, complete with sharp, young, easygoing colleagues, a brilliant mentor and a stunningly beautiful corporate campus (actually, the University of British Columbia), set against a forest of fir trees and snow-capped mountains. Extracurricular romantic activity, too, seems part of the benefits package, in the form of a potential liaison with co-worker Lisa (Rachael Leigh Cook), she of the porcelain skin, delicate features and standoffish attitude.
There are downsides, though, including daily harangues/pep talks from Winston, nicely played by Robbins with a mix of self-serving charm and understated menace, the same blend that worked so well in the actor's portrayal of the terrorist next door in Arlington Road.
Antitrust, which thrives on a generic alt-rock soundtrack and borrows from 1995's The Net and 1998's Enemy of the State, is otherwise predictable and rather formulaic. Milo begins to suspect that N.U.R.V. is up to no good. He discovers that Big Brother, in the former of Winston, is everywhere, and that enemies are masquerading as friends. And Phillippe (The Way of the Gun, Cruel Intentions) greets each revelation with a numb, distance-gazing expression. It's not exactly his finest hour.
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Antitrust
- Grade: C
- Director: Peter Howitt
- Cast: Ryan Phillippe, Rachael Leigh Cook, Claire Forlani, Tim Robbins, Richard Roundtree.
- Screenplay: Howard Franklin
- Rating: PG 13; violence; profanity
- Running time: 120 min.
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