Antitrust

Ryan Phillippe (Milo Hoffman)	Tim Robbins (Gary Winston)
Claire Forlani (Alice)	Rachel Leigh Cook (Lisa)
Yee Jee Tso (Teddy Chin)	Richard Roundtree (FBI Agent)
Ned Bellamy (Gary Winston's second-in-command)	Douglas MCFerran (Head of Security)
Director: Peter Howitt	Script: Howard Franklin

Set against the backdrop of the real-life antitrust case against the software giant Microsoft, this movie begins with a typical Silicon Valley scenario where a few friends are about to start a new company. Two young geniuses, Milo (Phillippe) and Teddy (Yee Jee) have a great new idea and they are about to get funding from a venture capitalist. At this point Gary Winston, the CEO-founder of NURV, the world's largest software company personally invites Milo to join NURV. He needs Milo to code the critical components of his new product "Synapse" that will allow transmission of voice and data anywhere in the world through a network of satellites.

Milo decides to join NURV, much against the wishes of his friend Teddy who urges him to rethink. Milo is however swayed by the suave persuasion of Gary and goes ahead. His girlfriend Alice (Forlani) moves right along with him and even encourages him. At NURV, Milo meets Lisa (Cook), a talented colleague, and is soon caught in the excitement of the project. It seems to him that Gary is always able to come up with a solution whenever someone gets stuck somewhere.

Then his friend Teddy, who was on the verge of a breakthrough is killed, apparently by racists. A series of incidents makes Milo realize that all is not what it appears and that Gary is a person who will stop at nothing, literally, to win. Thereafter, the film moves along at breakneck speed as Milo works with Alice and Lisa to expose Gary. In the end he wins, but he also realizes who are his friends and who are the enemy.

First the good news. The movie tried to capitalize on the antitrust case against Microsoft and its founder Bill Gates. Gary Winston has done a very good job of imitating Gates, copying his mannerisms to a great degree of accuracy. And with his tall gangly looks, his glasses, its hard not to realize whom he is actually playing. It's also not hard to see that NURV actually represents Microsoft.

The movie does have some pulse-pounding sequences and keeps you on the edge quite a bit. Ryan Phillippe, who reportedly raked in a million dollars for the movie, has tried his best to play the part of the geek (in computer world, a term used to describe young geniuses) who is idealistic and favours open-source systems (I won't go into details of all that). He is quite good in some sequences, particularly where he realizes that his girl friend has actually been paid to keep a check on him.

Having spent some time in the Silicon Valley, I can vouch for the authenticity of the young geniuses, their attempts to set up a company in a garage and get funding from a venture capitalist. Indeed, the valley is truly dotted with such young people who want to own the world tomorrow. Also quite authentic is the environment at NURV and the home of its CEO, except that instead of Seattle as in the case of Microsoft, NURV is located in Portland. But then, Portland is just two and a half hours drive from Seattle and the atmosphere is almost similar.

The marauding arrogance of Gary strikes a very familiar note, as we all know how Microsoft was exposed by the Justice Department of US in its attempt to stifle competition and become "The" software company in the world.

Okay, now for the flaws. The script is jerky. And very flawed. Computer professionals will find it ludicrous that a few UNIX commands allow Milo to get to the heart of NURV's sensitive databases. And that too in a matter of a few minutes. Computer hackers will also get annoyed that anyone can break into a secure system so easily. And in a company that spies upon the world's best programmers and knows every personal detail about each of them. And, of course, in the end, the speed with which Milo comes up with programs to expose Gary and NURV is simply unbelievable.

Claire Forlani, the British-born actress who gave such a marvellous performance in "Meet Joe Black", looks her usual beautiful, sultry and svelte self, but does not appear interested in performing in this movie. Her American accent is flawless in this movie. Rachel Cook does not impress despite her wide-eyed innocence.

The movie has a theme similar to "The Firm" and "The Devil's Advocate". What it does not have are Tom Cruise, Gene Hackman and the great Al Pacino. That should not have been a disadvantage, however, as Howitt and Franklin had a great opportunity to actually portray the real-life battle of Microsoft vs. the Justice Department. It could also have used some of the great Silicon Valley personalities like Larry Ellison (Oracle) or Steve Jobbs (Apple) to show how cult figures can inspire a whole generation of youngsters.

In the end, a watchable movie with a lot of excitement if you are willing to overlook the flaws.