Stars: Sean Connery, Gillian Anderson, Madeline Stowe, Ryan Phillippe, Angelina Jolie, Dennis Quaid, Ellen Burstyn, Anthony Edwards, Gena Rowlands, Jay Mohr, Jon Stewart

Director: Willard Carroll

Summary: A comedy about modern couples coming together in funny and unexpected ways.

A sprawling cast come together to tell this tale of romance and love in the 90's. The ensemble players discuss love and relationships throughout the film, and by the end of the picture, everyone has learned a valuable lesson: never give up on love. A touching romantic drama with several entertaining twists.

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Playing by Heartis an amiably amorphous comedy-drama about a myriad of articulate and witty people pondering the meaning of love. It was originally titled Dancing About Architecture, since, as one of the lovelorn puts it in trying to explain the elusive nature of desire, "Talking about love is like dancing about architecture". However, with the way the characters in Willard Carroll's film talk, it sounds like they could dance a samba around Frank Lloyd Wright. This undiscovered gem doesn't have a particular destination in mind, as it weaves in and out of the stories of its high-profile ensemble, but it does offer some hilarious, sharp dialogue and quiet surprises.

Carroll focuses his film on four couples, all in one way or another battling with the problems of relationships, ranging from long-marrieds (Gena Rowlands and Sean Connery) to Gen-X club-hoppers (Angelina Jolie and Ryan Phillippe). Ostensibly, part of the film is invested in the mystery of how all these characters are interrelated, but keen viewers will be able to discern the connections among them all. It's the uniformly excellent performances, though, that make Playing by Heartcompulsively watchable. Most striking, surprisingly enough, are Jolie and Phillippe, the youngest members of the cast who reveal heretofore hidden depths of talent. Jolie in particular increases her already-soaring stock as an actress. Equally impressive are Gillian Anderson and Jon Stewart, who transcend their yuppie personas in their awkward enactment of the timeless dating rituals. Other cast members, including Dennis Quaid, Anthony Edwards, Ellen Burstyn, Jay Mohr and the always-luminous Madeleine Stowe, are quite good, though saddled with story lines that are occasionally less than compelling. The only complaint you'll have is that once everyone's connections are revealed, you'll wish this cast had more of an opportunity to interact. The journey toward the film's bittersweet end, however, is marvellous in and of itself. --Mark Englehart, Amazon.com

Aspect Ratio:	Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Subtitles:	English
Year:	1998
Release Date:	June 15, 2006
Runtime:	116 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	B E D 888434
Label:	Miramax
Keywords:	About, Heart, Comedy, General, Dancing, Wide, Screen, Playing, Architecture
Genre:	Comedy