Playing by Heart (1998)

(On Cable TV, December 2022) Some movies definitely appreciate over time, especially those featuring multiple generations of actors in one sprawling ensemble. Such is the case for Playing by Heart, an ensemble romantic drama that has everyone from Sean Connery to Angelina Jolie (plus Gillian Anderson, Ellen Burstyn, Jay Mohr, Ryan Phillippe, Dennis Quaid, Gena Rowlands, Madeline Stowe and—wait, what? —Jon Stewart.)  A loose summary of the film’s preoccupation would be something like “love in late-1990 Los Angeles,” as roughly six subplots jockey for attention and loosely come together by the end of the film. While the screenplay was written for the big screen, its dialogue-heavy nature almost feels theatrical at times. Since it’s all character-based and dialogue takes precedence over action, don’t expect much in terms of plot: the typical scene has two characters talking about love while sitting or walking. Still, it’s an interesting showcase for a bunch of actors that you wouldn’t necessarily put in the same movie (post-stardom Connery, plus pre-stardom Jolie? That’s worth a trivia question somewhere), and that distinction has only grown in the nearly twenty-five years since the film’s release. I wouldn’t want to oversell it: Playing by Heart remains a modest, gentle, unassuming Thirty-Miles-Zone kind of movie. As such, it may occasionally feel dull and manipulative, but it usually picks up in the following scene.