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Playing by Heart

R Released Jan 22, 1999 2h 1m Drama List
60% Tomatometer 53 Reviews 79% Audience Score 10,000+ Ratings
In this tale of how love binds 11 random people from Los Angeles, a married couple (Sean Connery, Gena Rowlands) prepare to renew vows; a widowed mother (Ellen Burstyn) cares for a dying son (Jay Mohr) ; a couple (Madeleine Stowe, Anthony Edwards) have an affair; a theater director (Gillian Anderson) strikes up a relationship with a stranger (Jon Stewart) ; an aspiring actress (Angelina Jolie) pursues a shy young man and a lone man (Dennis Quaid) talks of heartbreak to strangers. Read More Read Less
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Playing by Heart

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Playing by Heart

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Critics Consensus

It's overly talky, but Playing By Heart benefits from witty insights into modern relationships and strong performances from an esteemed cast.

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Critics Reviews

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Sight & Sound Carroll's milieu is resolutely middle class and the crises encountered all too predictable. Jun 18, 2012 Full Review Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly Rated: C+ Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Lael Loewenstein Variety Carroll's characters spend so much time talking, albeit intelligently, that the connections they make seem peculiarly synthetic. Mar 26, 2009 Full Review Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid A very slight and inoffensive movie. It's a lot like L.A. itself, all surface, soothing and warm. Rated: 2.5/4 Jun 3, 2006 Full Review Ron Wells Film Threat The brightest spot belongs to Angelina Jolie, who is so compelling to watch she has chemistry with the furniture. Rated: 3/5 Jun 3, 2006 Full Review Robin Clifford Reeling Reviews Playing By Heart tries hard and sometimes succeeds -- and Jolie is terrific. Rated: B- Apr 9, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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tovangar T If you limit your viewing to the scenes with Ryan Philippe/Angelina Jolie ONLY, this is a great film. Try it. Philippe is very affecting and Jolie is completely charming. Philippe can convincingly deliver lines that would get any other actor laughed off-screen. True talent. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/18/24 Full Review Audience Member This film is so poorly written I think my eyes rolled out of my head, fell to the ground and shriveled into raisins on the tile floor. I’m blind now. This insufferable tripe has blinded me. Unfortunately it didn’t impair my hearing and I had to listen to some of the worst dialog ever conceived dribbling from the faces of some very famous and well respected actors. Their management must have been playing a prank on them. It’s one platitude and cliche after another. Characters who don’t even know each other profess their love after minutes and others reject each other in even less time. None of these people are even a passable facsimile of a human being. No one speaks this way. It feels like it was written by a seventh grader on wide ruled in a Lisa Frank trapper keeper. Boo. Two thumbs down and two middle fingers up. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 08/14/23 Full Review Steve D Great cast but the script is laughingly bad. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review antonis k Sean Connery is the only redeeming quality in this boring, silly and uninteresting romantic drama about different characters and relationships. That ultimately go nowhere to begin with. (3/10) Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie was all around sad af . I don’t think i have the heart capacity to be someone that loves this but I could see people being fans 2.4 Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/03/21 Full Review Audience Member Even though some plot lines are not as strong, the film stands out for its excellent cast. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Playing by Heart

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Playing by Heart

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Movie Info

Synopsis In this tale of how love binds 11 random people from Los Angeles, a married couple (Sean Connery, Gena Rowlands) prepare to renew vows; a widowed mother (Ellen Burstyn) cares for a dying son (Jay Mohr) ; a couple (Madeleine Stowe, Anthony Edwards) have an affair; a theater director (Gillian Anderson) strikes up a relationship with a stranger (Jon Stewart) ; an aspiring actress (Angelina Jolie) pursues a shy young man and a lone man (Dennis Quaid) talks of heartbreak to strangers.
Director
Willard Carroll
Producer
Willard Carroll, Meg Liberman, Thomas L. Wilhite
Screenwriter
Willard Carroll
Distributor
Miramax Films
Production Co
Miramax Films
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 22, 1999, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 15, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$4.0M
Runtime
2h 1m
Sound Mix
SDDS
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