Playing by Heart (1998)
78%RT Audience Score: 79%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win & 1 nomination
It’s overly talky, but Playing By Heart benefits from witty insights into modern relationships and strong performances from an esteemed cast
Playing by Heart is a movie that’s all about connections, but unfortunately, the only connection I felt was with Angelina Jolie’s character and the furniture. The film tries hard to be charming and romantic, but it falls a bit flat. The characters spend so much time talking that it feels a bit synthetic, and the final reel is disappointingly conventional. However, if you’re looking for a movie that’s easy to watch and won’t offend anyone, this might be the one for you. Just don’t expect to be blown away.
Production Company(ies)
Diamond Docs Fish Films, Oceanic Preservation Society
Distributor
Miramax Films
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Mayan Theater – 1038 Hill Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language
Year of Release
1999
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:SDDS DTS Dolby Digital
-
Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
-
Runtime:2h 1m
-
Language(s):English, German
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jan 22, 1999 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 17, 1999
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Sean Connery, Gena Rowlands, Ellen Burstyn, Jay Mohr, Madeleine Stowe, Anthony Edwards, Gillian Anderson, Jon Stewart, Angelina Jolie, Dennis Quaid, Ryan Phillippe, directed by Willard Carroll, written by Willard Carroll, produced by Willard Carroll, Meg Liberman, Thomas L Wilhite, drama, R rating, box office gross $4.0M, Miramax Films, relationships, ensemble cast, Los Angeles, renewal of vows, affair, dying son, aspiring actress, heartbreak, theater director, widowed mother, reviewed by Lisa Schwarzbaum, Lael Loewenstein, Derek Adams, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Kevin Thomas, Stephen Holden, Jeffrey M Anderson, Ron Wells, Robin Clifford, Dragan Antulov, Jeanne Aufmuth
Worldwide gross: $3,970,078
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $7,126,401
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,068
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 777,143
US/Canada gross: $3,970,078
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $7,126,401
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,707
US/Canada opening weekend: $26,669
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $47,872
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,225
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $20,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $35,900,558
Production budget ranking: 1,041
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $19,332,450
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$48,106,607
ROI to date (est.): -87%
ROI ranking: 1,939
Angelina Jolie – Joan
Madeleine Stowe – Gracie
Anthony Edwards – Roger
Ryan Phillippe – Keenan
Gena Rowlands – Hannah
Dennis Quaid – Trent
Ellen Burstyn – Mildred
Jay Mohr – Mark
Jon Stewart – Ryan
Sean Connery – Paul
Director – Willard Carroll
Producers – Willard Carroll, Meg Liberman, Thomas L. Wilhite
Writer – Willard Carroll
Director(s)
Willard Carroll
Writer(s)
Willard Carroll
Producer(s)
Willard Carroll, Meg Liberman, Thomas L. Wilhite
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 1 nomination
Academy Awards
All Critics (53) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (32) | Rotten (21)
September 7, 2011 | Rating: C+
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Carroll’s characters spend so much time talking, albeit intelligently, that the connections they make seem peculiarly synthetic.
March 26, 2009
Lael Loewenstein
Variety
TOP CRITIC
All of these characters are more interesting when things are going badly for them than when the tide has turned, and Carroll’s determination to make the final reel an extended bout of audience tummy tickling is disappointingly conventional.
June 3, 2006
Derek Adams
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
This charming romantic comedy with a Los Angeles setting cuts between seemingly unconnected miniplots the way some Robert Altman movies do.
June 3, 2006
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
If Playing by Heart is the kind of film that used to be known as a “woman’s picture,” it certainly provides more emotional nourishment than most other mainstream movies generate these days.
February 14, 2001
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
For all its artificiality, Playing by Heart percolates with an earnest charm.
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 3/4
Stephen Holden
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
A very slight and inoffensive movie. It’s a lot like L.A. itself, all surface, soothing and warm.
June 3, 2006 | Rating: 2.5/4
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
The brightest spot belongs to Angelina Jolie, who is so compelling to watch she has chemistry with the furniture.
June 3, 2006 | Rating: 3/5
Ron Wells
Film Threat
Playing By Heart tries hard and sometimes succeeds — and Jolie is terrific.
April 9, 2005 | Rating: B-
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews
Nothing more than merely watchable film.
October 13, 2004 | Rating: 3/10
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews
May 14, 2003 | Rating: 2/4
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly
The dozen or so lead characters of Playing By Heart fear silence the way Biblical people feared locusts.
March 19, 2003 | Rating: D
Nick Davis
Nick’s Flick Picks…
Plot
Eleven articulate people work through affairs of the heart in Los Angeles. Paul produces Hannah’s television cooking show, and they must move beyond gentle barbs when she wants to know about an affair of his years ago. Mark is dying of A.I.D.S., and his mother comes to his bedside: they must speak truthfully. Men have scalded Meredith, so she rebuffs Trent’s charm, but he persists. The trendy, prolix Joan tries to pull the solitary Keenan into her orbit: why is he reluctant? An adulterous couple meets at hotels for evening sex, but she is unwilling for the relationship to grow. Hugh tells tall tales, usually tragic, to women in bars. By the week’s end, their parallel stories converge.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Angelina Jolie, in an early performance, steals the whole picture.
Willard-Carroll.jpg
