Playing By Heart

United States: 1998
U.S. Release Date: 1/22/99 (wide)
Running Length: 2:01
Classification: R (Profanity, sexual situations, mature themes)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Cast: Sean Connery, Gena Rowlands, Gillian Anderson, Madeleine Stowe, Angelina Jolie, Dennis Quaid, Ellen Burstyn, Jay Mohr, Jon Stewart, Ryan Phillippe, Anthony Edwards
Director: Willard Carroll
Producers: Willard Carroll, Meg Liberman, Thomas L. Wilhite
Screenplay: Willard Carroll
Cinematography: Vilmos Zsigmond
Music: John Barry
U.S. Distributor: Miramax Films

Playing By Heart
“I never knew what happiness was until I married your mother and by then it was too late”. This is one of the lines that Sean Connery says with flair in his part as Paul in the movie “Playing by Heart”. It seems strange to see Connery in a romantic comedy, but it shows the ability that this actor has to take on all sorts of acting parts. When viewers get used to seeing him as a family man, they get to see the human side of him as he must be in real life with his own family.

Chemistry Between Characters
It is the chemistry that Connery is able to display with his costar Gena Rowlands that adds to the story line. One can easily see that the seasoned actor can make others around him feel at ease and he fits so well into playing the part of a married man that one can see he is well used to this situation. He appears to be the fun-loving husband that gets on his wife's nerves by always giving away the endings of the movies she watches.

Weak Lines – Good Performance
One of the problems that many Sean Connery fans have with this movie is that he has one of the strongest parts in the movie, yet his lines are weak. In spite of this he gives the performance of a lifetime where his professionalism as an actor shines through. It is not his fault that the writers did not do a good job of properly developing the character.