Taking its structure from Robert Altman's "Short Cuts", this movie interweaves the stories of three sisters, their parents, friends and men in their lives. Meredith (Gillian Anderson) is a theatre director with a serious phobia of commitment and monogamous relationships. In Trent (John Stewart) she meets her match, as he pursues her with honesty, affection and lots of humour. Too good to be true? Joan (Angeline Jolie) is a bar-hopper who can't seem to meet the right man, until she hooks up with Keenan (Ryan Phillippe). His quiet introspection bruises as it bumps up against her more flamboyant and ebullient style. But their respective vulnerabilities open up the possibility for a more permanent attachment. Or do they? Accused of having no imagination and neglecting his wife, Hugh (Dennis Quaid) is a man who every night reinvents himself by entering a different social establishment and telling lies to unsuspecting patrons. To what end? Married, but not to each other, Gracie (Madeleine Stowe) and Roger (Anthony Edwards) are having an affair in which each understands the limits of the relationship. Or do they? Hannah (Gena Rowlands) and Paul (Sean Connery) are facing the most serious threat to their forty years of marriage - his brain tumor. Or is it? And finally, Mark (Jay Mohr) is dying of AIDS while his mother Mildred (Ellen Burstyn) sits vigil at his bedside. In their last moments together, each reconciles their relationship with the other as well as to their friends and family. Those are the characters and this is another in a long line of "love as a battlefield" stories. In this case, everyone walks away with scars, though some more deadly than others. While I was impressed with the acting and thought the evolution of these relationships was realistic, I was very disappointed in the lack of surprises and the totally predictable dénouement.
Review of Playing by Heart
