Playing by Heart

Playing By Heart inspires the question, "How many stories do you need to tell in one film to cover the entire spectrum of human relationship dynamics?" It's a trick question, of course, since you can't possibly cover love in toto in one film; you can only hope that the stories you do tell are insightful enough that they feel more universal. Writer/director Willard Carroll, however, has chosen to answer that question with a definitive, "Six," and that's at least two too many. One of the stories--Gillian Anderson and Jon Stewart as tentative romantic sparring partners--is consistently effective; two others--Angelina Jolie and Ryan Phillippe as star-crossed club-hoppers, and Sean Connery and Gena Rowlands as a married couple healing old wounds--are fairly diverting. Unfortunately, with three other tedious tales vying for time, the good ones never build enough momentum. Playing By Heart ends up chopped into three-minute chunks, giving it all the emotional resonance of a wittier-than-usual episode of The Love Boat. For all its flaws, the film might have still worked with a focus on one or two couples; as it is, this epic of the heart ends up proving the law of diminishing returns. Not recommended. (S. Renshaw)