FFWD Weekly
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| Film by Julie Pithers PLAYING BY HEART Sure it’s been done before. Neil Simon’s California Suite intercut snarky couples with problems in sunny Los Angeles way back in ’78. And at the beginning of Playing By Heart, my blood turned cold as each of the four couples and a seemingly single guy (played by Dennis Quaid) mapped out their problems in that dreadful city. Writer/director Willard Carroll is, after all, new to the feature film business. But after the initial announcement of why we are all here, nearly all the vignettes grew stronger and stronger. When Sean Connery first appeared on the screen, I thought he must be related to Carroll and came on board only as a family favor, but as his story unfolded I figured he came in on the strength of the material. Connery plays Paul, a loving husband to Gena Rowlands’s Hannah, an Emmy Award-winning TV cook. They – the most broadly drawn characters in the film – are coming to terms with their 40-year marriage. Next comes Gracie and Roger – played by Madeleine Stowe and ER’s Anthony Edwards – two people who just have adulterous sex. That’s pretty much it. Every visit back to them feels forced and long, and they’re really unlikely coupling partners. Angelina Jolie, in her first feature film role, plays the sucker for love, Joan. She eats up the screen and delivers her witty dialogue with ease and style. Joan sees a challenge in the stoic Keenan (played by Ryan Phillippe of I Know What You Did Last Summer), and stalks him in the L.A. club scene, battering down his defences with her non-stop, clever chatter. The only couple who aren’t together for romantic love are Mark and his mother, played with poignant sadness by Jay Mohr and Ellen Burstyn. He is dying of AIDS and she is the only one left to comfort him. The deep grief of such a meeting is portrayed in a gentle, loving performance by Burstyn. Surprisingly, the best performances came from those whom I expected the least from: Gillian Anderson and Jon Stewart. Scully plays a romantically hurt, theatre-type with a brittle protective wall around her. Her raw fear of love, combined with Stewart’s regular-Joe charm provide scenes that makes your heart wince. The only problems in Playing By Heart come from the coincidence of timing and circumstance. It is hard to believe that all these stories come to a head just when the writer needs them to. Having three of the characters dealing with death in one way or another is a stretch. Also, some of the editing is a little suspect; the cuts are fast like television, but some of the camera position changes make the actors jump around or repeat a move. However, these are small details in a series of small stories that round out to a convenient but satisfying conclusion. Playing By Heart even makes L.A. seem like a decent enough place to live. I thought only Steve Martin could do that. |
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