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Playing By Heart

Playing By Heart

Starring Gillian Anderson, Ellen Burstyn, Sean Connery, Anthony Edwards,
Angelina Jolie, Jay Mohr, Ryan Phillippe, Dennis Quaid,
Gena Rowlands, Jon Stewart, Madeleine Stowe
Directed by Willard Carroll

Audiences cannot be blamed if they think Miramax’s "Playing By Heart" is a blah movie. Afterall, if a film boasts such a powerhouse ensemble cast and is any good, why didn’t the Weinstein brothers give it a huge Oscar push? Why relegate it to the movie wasteland that is January?

Well, quite simply put, "Playing By Heart" is not one of those films that will win an Oscar. Huge ensemble pieces almost never get considered for any awards whatsoever (notable exception: Robert Altman’s "Short Cuts", but that ws almost two movies in one). That said, this slight, enjoyable film does have quite a lot going for it, and should have no problem finding an audience via word of mouth recommendations.

Playing By HeartThe film traces the emotional trajectories of a handful of disparate couples. There’s Paul and Hannah (Sean Connery and Gena Rowlands), an old couple on the brink of celebrating their 40th anniversary who find themselves suddenly mistrustful and hurt when an old, possibly adulterous, secret is uncovered. There’s Mark and Mildred (Jay Mohr and Ellen Burstyn), a dying son coming to terms with his distant mother and the secrets she harbors about his father. Lest it be thought that the film’s un-hip, there’s Joan (Angelina Jolie), a party-girl who’s intent on hunting down Keenan (Ryan Phillippe), a dance-club loner who would have nothing to do with her. Meanwhile, Meredith (Gillian Anderson), a control-freak theater director with a neurotic aversion to relationships, is being pursued by an architect, Trent (Jon Stewart), who just won’t take "No" for an answer. Finally, there’s Gracie (Madeleine Stowe), a married woman involved in a passionate but loveless affair with Roger (Anthony Edwards), intent on keeping him at arm’s length even as she struggles to make up her mind about her marriage. Playing By HeartThrough all this, there’s a mysterious barfly Hugh (Dennis Quaid) who changes his story every night, confusing an assortment of hapless individuals (including Nastassja Kinski in an unbilled cameo appearance). Of course, there’s a satisfying conclusion that ties all these people together in a neat package, but the device is no huge surprise to audiences who pay attention, and is not too much of a gimmick to be cloying and annoying.

Willard Carroll, writing and directing his second movie, has managed to attract a whole lot of talent to this project. It’s not hard to see why, since the script is literate, snappy and sporadically funny and sad. Every character is realistically written so audiences never for a moment doubt that these people could exist in real life, and this is important in a film that seeks to explore the themes this one does. The characters’ predicaments and reactions all strike a chord, and Carroll elicits a handful of wonderful performances from every actor in his cast. The story moves along smoothly, and it’s a nicely directed dramedy that never lags.

The actors all perform well. Although Sean Connery and the always magnificent Gena Rowlands have been often cited, along with the incandescent Angelina Jolie, as the stand-outs, Gillian Anderson and Jon Stewart do remarkable good work with their hilarious characters, delivering every zinger with the right mix of playfulness and trepidation. Madeleine Stowe also imbues her under-written character with a depth not apparent from the scripted dialogue, and Dennis Quaid obviously has a good time with his enigmatic role. All of the cast interact well with each other, most notably Jay Mohr and Ellen Burstyn in their handful of scenes together. In fact, there isn’t a single performance to fault in this film at all, and most of the pleasure derived from watching this movie can be credited to the actors.

Playing By Heart

"Playing by Heart" probably won’t be a memorable film for anyone but the purest die hard romantic. It’s very light, buoyant and frothy - insubstantial fun - but while it lasts, it’s a whole lot better than a lot of the stuff out in the cineplexes at this time of the year.


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