Al Pacino is in subtle mode in his new picture, and he draws, no doubt, much inspiration from people he's worked with through his illustrious career.

In People I Know, Pacino plays press agent Eli Wurman. After many years of grueling torture at the hands of spoiled rich clients, Wurman finds himslf at a crossroads. Is this something he wants to continue? Complicating matters is a murder of a client that Wurman may or may have not witnessed.

Like Levity, People I Know moves at a slow pace revealing it's little secrets through character rather than situations.

Pacino is extremely effective as a man tired of his job. He even sports a Georgia accent. Gone, is that sudden yelling thing we've seen him do in movies like Scent of a Woman and Heat. Not that I mind the yelling thing. It's sort of a Pacino trademark. What's most impressive about his turn here, is his quiet sweetness. This is a very non-Al Pacino Al Pacino role. We saw Jack Nicholson do something similar in About Schmidt and it's really refreshing. Kim Basinger is also effective here as a woman who finds herself falling for Wurman. This is a nice change of pace from her over the top trailer trash mom in 8 Mile.

Director Dan Argent and his screenwriter Jon Robin Baitz should be commended for not dwelling on the murder portion of the plot. This is more of a character study and an interesting one at that. Still the ending of this picture is quite telegraphed. Halfway through, I knew where it was going.

I'd watch this movie again just to see Pacino work his magic. He is one of our best actors and his turn in People I Know proves it.