Playing By Heart
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Movie Reviews of Playing By Heart
Movie Review: Playing by Heart - A very special movie!
Summary: 5 Stars
"Playing by Heart" is one of those quaint movies that you might never have heard of. I certainly hadn't until cruising around Amazon one day and following a link for Gillian Anderson. Being interested in seeing her in a role outside of "The X-Files" I ordered this film but for whatever reasons, this DVD sat on the rack until recently. Clearly, after watching this, I should've checked it out sooner."Playing by Heart" is hinged upon a star studded cast and a casually paced but well timed and written script that plays very well emotionally. One cannot help but think that as an ensemble cast, the majority, if not all of the stars of this film, took a significant cut in pay for doing this film, in effect, showing their shared affections for the script.
On to this stellar cast, let's see, in alphabetical order; Gillian Anderson, Ellen Burstyn, Sean Connery, Anthony Edwards, Angelina Jolie, Jay Mohr, Ryan Phillippe, Dennis Quaid, Gena Rowlands, Jon Stewart and Madeline Stowe, WOW! As expected, it was extremely wonderful to see Gillian Anderson outside of the "Scully" role and it will be nice to see her in future films. As is usual with Angelina Jolie, she presents an entirely different character in this film and displays perfectly the range of her acting skills. Overall kudos goes to the entire cast for their collective performances in this wonderful film about life.
High praise goes to Willard Carroll for having written and directed this charming and extremely enjoyable film! This movie apparently won high critical acclaim when it was in the theaters, and it now deserves as much acclaim as it can from those that count, movie watchers who enjoy well scripted and performed movies! The score plays perfectly to the film as well.
The Premise:
"Playing by Heart" is an extremely well told story about life, love and the ups and downs that love brings to those that try to embrace it. The movie cuts frequently between several different couples who are either struggling through the difficulties of burgeoning love, middle years of marriage or the older couple looking back upon their lives together.
What follows from there is a movie that leads to a wonderful ending that is unfortunately a bit predictable but doesn't detract from the experience in any way and in fact actually enhances the experience. I highly recommend this film to any and all that are fans of good movies! {ssintrepid}
Special Features:
This DVD is all about the movie itself!
Movie Review: A rare, satisfying gem
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is fabulous, as it flawlessly portrays the drama, the complexities and, most importantly, the beauty of love. The director seamlessly weaves in and out of the tales of relationships of several different couples. Joan and Keenan are young fledgling lovers who meet in a nightclub under rather humourous, unique and intriguing circumstances.
Meredith and Trent are battling with the issues involved in middle-aged dating and how to overcome past demons.
Hannah and Paul have been married for years, and are now confronting a crucial turning-point in their not-so-perfect marriage.
Mildred and Mark, a mother-and-son pairing, tear-jerkingly come to terms with the reality of a terminal illness.
Gracie and Roger are using sexual compatibility to disguise emotional loneliness.
And Hugh disguises emotional loneliness in a different way - he ventures out into the world, trying to make something of himself using the only talent he knows.
In essence, the director is to be commended for his skilled use of cinematography, dialogue and music to portray the funny, tender, dramatic and often brutally honest side of love, in all its forms. The actors are by no means amateurs, and bring both depth and realism to their roles.
Overall, most people would be hard-pressed to find flaw with this film. Women and teenage girls will revel in the romance. Men will probably be amused and entertained by the honesty and humour portrayed. And any sentimental soul will probably shed a tear here or there, as they experience the subtle power of this film.
Starring Angelina Jolie, Ryan Phillippe, Gillian Anderson, Ellen Burstyn, Jay Mohr, Dennis Quaid, Sean Connery, Gena Rowlands, Madeleine Stowe and Anthony Edwards, this film is rated M15+, but in terms of sexual references and occasional coarse language, it would probably be considered an R on the net. However, any mature teenager under the age of 15 could handle it.
It's difficult to find fault with this movie, and the unexpected twists and turns and ultimate unexpected (or perhaps expected, for the more perceptive) linking of characters will leave you stunned and, I believe, moved.
This film is refreshing, honest, full of vitality, warmth, humour and tenderness that will leave almost everybody satisfied.
P.S Please write to the producers if you know where to find them - beg them to release the DVD in Australia. It's tearing me apart! It's one of my favourite movies.
Movie Review: Talking about love is.........
Summary: 5 Stars
When most movies boast of an "all-star cast," what they usually mean is 2, maybe 3 big name actors + a bunch of people you've never heard of. Not so with this film. With the likes of Dennis Quaid, Sean Connery, Madeline Stowe, Gillian Anderson and Angelina Jolie, this one truly lives up to the promise of having a celebrity-filled cast. They could have funded the first manned mission to Mars with the payroll of this movie. Even better, these are all cream-of-the-crop actors, as opposed to being big-name pseudo actors (like Keanu Reeves, for instance).The story is about 3 sisters (Stowe, Anderson & Jolie), all of whom experience various troubles regarding men. Stowe's character is involved in a passionless marriage; the only way she can feel alive & vibrant is by engaging in a lascivious sexual arrangement with a fellow apartment tenant.
Anderson plays the sister "in the middle" who has been burned by men in her past & is apprehensive and more than a little bit reluctant to "play the field" again.
Jolie's persona, meanwhile, just plain can't seem to find the right guy. She goes thru frequent romances, but never finds a worthwhile partner to hang on to.
In the meantime, their parents are having their own marital troubles. Closing in on their 40th wedding anniversary, they cannot help but summon up ghosts of past lovers.
The tale is presented in a very different way than any other film I have ever seen. We see the characters deal with their individual struggles, then their stories are woven together at the end. This is a fascinating "angle" by which to detail the narrative.
The film is very well done & all of the acting performances, as expected with this ensemble, are impeccable. Jolie, in particular, stands out. The acting job she delivers is magnificent; I become a bigger & bigger fan of her's each movie I see her in. This is one of the best "date" movies I have ever seen; funny, yet emotionally poignant. Sometimes, it's best to play by heart.
Movie Review: An Underseen Film with an Undeniably Great Cast
Summary: 5 Stars
Playing By Heart is one of those little movies that you find at the video store by accident and are so glad you did. I remember seeing the previews for it, and laughing out loud at the scenes between Gillian Anderson, the heavenly Jon Stewart, and a big dog, who commenced to share the bed with Stewart. The film had those laughs, and much more. It is not a deep film, or a great classic, but it is a fun little romantic comedy about how to find love and how to make it last.If for no other reason, you should see it for the actors. Where else can you find such a talented cast raging in age from late teens to mid-60's, from former James Bonds, to Angelina Jolie, to one of the ER docs, to Dana Scully herself? (I have to say it was mighty funny to see Gillian Anderson acting nerdy and awkward. She's usually so confident, and half of America is in love with her! But she did great.)
The actors all do a nice job with this film. You get the impression that it was their treat film they made for themselves for fun, in between other projects. You can tell they loved working together.
Ryan Phillipe and Angelina Jolie both do wondrously as a hip young couple (he has blue hair, she has pink hair!) in an emotionally charged on-again, off-again relationship. Jay Mohr gives a solid and realistic performance as a terminally ill man coming to terms with his illness with the help of his mother. I think this part of the film reminds us that life is short, and that love is the most important thing, and that we shouldn't take either for granted. Madeleine Stowe is good as the lonely housewife who is bonking a pastor (Anthony Edwards). Dennis Quaid, as her husband, does a nice job, shall we say, "acting out." Gena Rowlands is, as always, touching and elegant, and her hubby, Sean Connery, is cute as a button. They look so good together, I'm surprised they're not actually married!
This film is a great pick-me-up film. A probable chick flick, but I know guys who've liked it a lot.
Movie Review: Wonderful Romantic Drama
Summary: 5 Stars
PLAYING BY HEART is a character-driven drama about the sometimes funny (sometimes painful) and always complex ways love can touch your life (and your heart). Set in Los Angeles, the film weaves in and out of the lives of a group of eleven people of varied generations and lifestyles, all of whom are experiencing love in one of its many maddening stages. Some people are finding it, some are rediscovering it, and others are losing it. What they have in common is an intense desire to express how love makes them feel. The film weaves in and out of these stories with no paricular destination, but it offers some honest, crisp, and funny dialogue, not to mention more than a few surprises. The film focuses on a series of couples (and all those somehow connected with them), who are in one way or another battling relationship problems. There is the long married couple (Gena Rowlands and Sean Connery) dealing with the pains of a past affair that may or may not have happeed, the Gen-X club-hoppers (Angelina Jolie and Ryan Phillippe) who may or may not want a relationship, the divorcee (Gillian Anderson) unable to commit to a new love (Jon Stewart), the married woman (Madeleine Stowe) having an affair with the married man (Anthony Edwards), the heartbroken mother(Ellen Burstyn) whose gay son (Jay Mohr) is dying of AIDS, and of course, the man (Dennis Quaid) who frequents bars to lie to women. The biggest mystery is how these characters are interrelated, but when it is finally revealed, it seems all too predictable . But who cares--it is the unbelievably excellent performances that make Playing by Heart such a wonderful film to watch. The cast has amazing chemistry, and all but carry the film on their shoulders. From start to finish, Playing By Heart is a wonderful, clever, and moving picture--an undiscovered gem that deserves an audience.