Amazon.com: This amiably amorphous comedy-drama about a myriad of articulate and witty people pondering the meaning of love was originally titled Dancing About Architecture. As one of the lovelorn puts it, in trying to explain the elusive nature of desire, "Talking about love is like dancing about architecture." However, with the way the characters in Willard Carroll's film talk, it sounds like they could dance a samba around Frank Lloyd Wright. This undiscovered gem doesn't have a particular destination in mind, as it weaves in and out of the stories of its high-profile ensemble, but it does offer some hilarious, sharp dialogue and quiet surprises. Carroll focuses his film on four couples, all in one way or another battling with the problems of relationships, ranging from long-marrieds (Gena Rowlands and Sean Connery) to Gen-X club-hoppers (Angelina Jolie and Ryan Phillippe). Ostensibly, part of the film is invested in the mystery of how all these characters are interrelated, but keen viewers will be able to discern the connections among everyone. It's the uniformly excellent performances, though, that make Playing by Heart compulsively watchable. Most striking, surprisingly enough, are Jolie and Phillippe, the youngest members of the cast who reveal heretofore hidden depths of talent. Jolie in particular increases her already-soaring stock as an actress. Equally impressive are Gillian Anderson and Jon Stewart, who transcend their yuppie personas in their awkward enactment of the timeless dating rituals. Other cast members, including Dennis Quaid, Anthony Edwards, Ellen Burstyn, Jay Mohr, and the always luminous Madeleine Stowe, are quite good, though saddled with story lines that are occasionally less than compelling. The only complaint you'll have is that once everyone's connections are revealed, you'll wish this cast had more of an opportunity to interact. The journey toward the film's bittersweet end, however, is marvelous in and of itself. --Mark Englehart
IT'S ONLY ME, BUT: THIS MOVIE IS ABOUT 4 MODERN COUPLES COMING TOGETHER AND ABOUT HOW THEY CONNECT AND HOW THEY ARE CONNECTED. ANGELINA JOLIE GIVES A PREFORMANCE THAT SHOWS SIGNS OF HER GREATNESS IN ACTING. JM
A Feel Good Movie "Playing by Heart"
A Feel Good Movie
Amos Lassen
I don't understand how I missed "Playing by Heart" until recently. It is positively delightful and charming with a wonderful cast. We watch eleven articulate people work through affairs of the heart in Los Angeles. Mark (Jay Mohr) is dying of AIDS and his mother (Ellen Burstyn) comes to his bedside and they need to talk openly and honestly. Other characters include Sean Connery (Paul) and Gena Rowlands (Hannah) as an older couple. Rowlands discovers that Connery considered having an affair during their forty year marriage and she has to deal with it. Keenan (Ryan Phillippe) and Joan (Angelina Jolie who gives a wonderful performance) are two club kids looking for companionship in a cold world. Jolie shows great emotion in her role and together the two are a very "hot" couple. Gillian Anderson plays a lonely theater director and John Stewart is a lonely architect. The two play their roles with a chemistry that makes them totally convincing. Then there is the most ridiculous of the couples, Madeline Stowe and Anthony Edwards. They play a married couple who cheat on each other but we never know much about them, Last is Dennis Quaid, a loner who spends his time in bars telling stories to anyone who will listen to him In the end all of the stories come together in a very clever way. The story has its weaknesses but the characters carry the film and the acting is excellent throughout. "Playing by Heart" took me quite by surprise as there is not a single dull moment on the screen. We do often see films about how to maintain relationships and it deals with the meaning of love and how far someone will go for love.
Much to like about this movie There is a lot to like about this movie, for me chiefly the performances of Ryan Phillippe and Jon Stewart. Everyone in the cast is quite good, but these two stand out for me.
With Ryan Phillippe there is never a contrived or insincere moment. He's an actor who holds something back ... he allows us to feel there's more to discover about his character, some secret we can find if we look hard enough, something interesting. He and Angelina Jolie slip into a relationship that is poignant and romantic. I wonder what might have happened next.
Why has Jon Stewart never done another romantic role? ... he's engaging, likable, believable as a man who falls in love with a woman who turns out to be one of three daughters whose romantic entanglements, along with those of their parents, form the basis of the plot. He's without artifice, natural, real. It is our loss that Jon Stewart has chosen not to do more acting.
A nice little film, as good or better than so many being produced today. Released in 1998, it doesn't seem dated either in appearance or subject matter.
Realy Good This movie was Realy Good. If I had to compare it to anything else i've seen, it would be the movie, "Crash". Which I loved tremendously as well. Hey, it's a great film with a full circle ending. You will NOT be disappointed.
One of My Favorite Movies of All Time Most of my favorite movies are music related: Spinal Tap, Fame, Grace of My Heart...but this movie was so powerful that it instantly entered my top ten faves of all time. I have never been so engaged, invested in or moved by the characters as I was during this film. It was realistic, yet unpredictable. I cannot fathom how anyone who has a heart could not adore this movie as I do. (To top things off, the Angelina Jolie and Ryan Philippe characters resembled me and my boyfriend to a T!)
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