Playing by Heart

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Playing by Heart

R

1999

2h 1m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

62%

Tomatometer

50 Reviews

79%

Popcornmeter

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.

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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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Sight & Sound

Jun 18, 2012

Carroll's milieu is resolutely middle class and the crises encountered all too predictable.

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Lael Loewenstein

Variety

Mar 26, 2009

Carroll's characters spend so much time talking, albeit intelligently, that the connections they make seem peculiarly synthetic.

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Derek Adams

Time Out

Jun 3, 2006

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.

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Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Jun 3, 2006

2.5/4

A very slight and inoffensive movie. It's a lot like L.A. itself, all surface, soothing and warm.

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Lisa S.

@LisaCPS Feb 10, 2026

Love love love the actors! It is a little quirky but it works!

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John M

@MusicBoyVA Jan 19, 2025

Two hours too long. Bilge. Not the actors fault. They're doing the best they can with this material.

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tovangar T

@RT10995558 May 18, 2024

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.

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Aug 14, 2023

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.

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Steve D

@RT35616104 Feb 12, 2023

Great cast but the script is laughingly bad.

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Mar 3, 2021

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

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Willard Carroll

Director

Gillian Anderson

Meredith

Angelina Jolie

Joan

Madeleine Stowe

Gracie

Anthony Edwards

Roger

Ryan Phillippe

Keenan

54

15%

31%

54

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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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