A sprawling cast come together to tell this tale of romance and love in the 90's. The ensemble players discuss love and relationships throughout the film, and by the end of the picture, everyone has learned a valuable lesson: never give up on love. A touching romantic drama with several entertaining twists. Read more
| Starring | Sean Connery, Gillian Anderson, Madeline Stowe, Ryan Phillippe |
|---|---|
| Director | Willard Carroll |
| Genres | Drama, Romance |
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A beautifully crafted multi-character love story, which not only provides great roles for legendary old-timers Sean Connery, Ellen Burstyn and Gena Rowlands, but also puts newer Hollywood hopefuls Ryan Phillippe, Gillian Anderson and Angelina Jolie in the spotlight. Director Willard Carroll's glossy ensemble brings to mind Short Cuts in both structure and format, as several characters grapple with emotional turmoil in their lives. Yet this is far more engaging as it cuts between a multitude of stormy confrontations, intriguing trysts and startling dates, and then neatly ties them all off with a bravura conclusion that's both extremely clever and deeply satisfying. This exceptional drama is a welcome surprise that combines great compassion, humour and searing wisdom to stunning effect.
"...There are no bad performances in PLAYING BY HEART....It's a good actors' showcase....The most pleasant surprises are performances by actors who get a chance to prove there's more to them than you ever knew..."
First-time writer/director Willard Carroll has marshalled quite a cast for this ensemble piece about life and love in... read more on Time Out
This film at first and for say the first half an hour seems very confusing and changes from person to person constantly, and the plot seem's confusing but at the end you find out that theyre all connected to one another in some sort of way. Its a very deep film and once seen you'll realise you did enjoy it. Moving...heartwarming.
I surprised by how much I enjoyed this as I don't usually go for 'romance' films. However this has a great cast, and by focusing on the specific romances of the individual characters, which it performs more successfully than 'Love Actually', it keeps you constantly engaged.
The only disappointment is that with such a fantastic cast there is little interaction between them.
not bad bored to me watch it
not bad bored to me watch it
This film at first and for say the first half an hour seems very confusing and changes from person to person constantly, and the plot seem's confusing but at the end you find out that theyre all connected to one another in some sort of way. Its a very deep film and once seen you'll realise you did enjoy it. Moving...heartwarming.
This film at first and for say the first half an hour seems very confusing and changes from person to person constantly, and the plot seem's confusing but at the end you find out that theyre all connected to one another in some sort of way. Its a very deep film and once seen you'll realise you did enjoy it. Moving...heartwarming.
I surprised by how much I enjoyed this as I don't usually go for 'romance' films. However this has a great cast, and by focusing on the specific romances of the individual characters, which it performs more successfully than 'Love Actually', it keeps you constantly engaged.
The only disappointment is that with such a fantastic cast there is little interaction between them.
not bad bored to me watch it
I couldn't persevere after 20mins I gave up watching. If I missed a good film then it was my loss but I just could not get into it!
As and avid Gillian Anderson fan I had to rent this film. But and there is always a but this was very slow and boring especially with such an all name cast as this is.The story was flat and the acting poor. Not a very good start as this was my first rental
What ever Angelina Jolie is in is going to be fantastic,Enjoyed thoroughly.
A real mixed bag of a film. Some scenes and scenarios are weak and some are strong. I can see why this didn't do too well at the box office. But some of the moments in it are up there with the best of anything I've seen on screen. I recommend it for an easy night's entertainment.
No plot, character cliches with a sickeningly predictable ending. The main drive behind and reason for any success would be the name dropping of supposedly talented actors/actresses.
Typical american drivel and would appeal mostly to American grad students obsessed with their own maturity or avid followers of Carrie Fisher with maggot intelligence.
Like watching ER, Finding Forrester, Cruel Intentions, Xfiles and two inflatable slugs on the same tv at the same time. Don't watch it!
One star for Sean Connery, One star for Dennis Quaid and one star for the soundtrack (gomez,Chet Baker) then one minus for insulting the above.
When I added this film to my selection, it was purely because a certain actor was in it, so I didn't know what to expect when I watched the film, but I was throughly surprised, as it was really quite a fun film to watch. Lots of good acting and storylines were great and I liked how it all came together at the end.
I saw this film when it first came out and watched it again this weekend. I loved it both times. Encourages any doubters out there that love can prevail.
A beautifully crafted multi-character love story, which not only provides great roles for legendary old-timers Sean Connery, Ellen Burstyn and Gena Rowlands, but also puts newer Hollywood hopefuls Ryan Phillippe, Gillian Anderson and Angelina Jolie in the spotlight. Director Willard Carroll's glossy ensemble brings to mind Short Cuts in both structure and format, as several characters grapple with emotional turmoil in their lives. Yet this is far more engaging as it cuts between a multitude of stormy confrontations, intriguing trysts and startling dates, and then neatly ties them all off with a bravura conclusion that's both extremely clever and deeply satisfying. This exceptional drama is a welcome surprise that combines great compassion, humour and searing wisdom to stunning effect.
"...There are no bad performances in PLAYING BY HEART....It's a good actors' showcase....The most pleasant surprises are performances by actors who get a chance to prove there's more to them than you ever knew..."
First-time writer/director Willard Carroll has marshalled quite a cast for this ensemble piece about life and love in... read more on Time Out
"...PLAYING BY HEART percolates with an earnest charm. Much of that sweetness emanates from Ms. Jolie..."
Garrulous romantic drama that never quite conveys true emotion.