L'ombre d'un soupçon

The opening scenes grab you and push you back into your seat. The two stars of the film have just lost their spouses in an air crash. They must identify the bodies. Harrison Ford discovers his wife was sitting next to a man in first class so he calls upon the wife of this man. He suspects that they might have been having an affair. Harrison Ford is such a good actor; he leads you into the film and won't let you go. This is a bit unfortunate because the story slowly deteriorates. No viewer can miss what is going to happen next but this review will not tell you just in case someone new to American cinema fears "a spoiler." The acting is so good that the film can hold your interest, but it does not seem to live up to its riveting beginning.

Random Hearts: Losing a significant other is a subject most people would rather not think about. Now, try to imagine this agony exacerbated by the knowledge that your spouse was headed for an illicit rendezvous when they died: the combination of grief and betrayal is simply too overwhelming to comprehend. This is what confronts Dutch Van Den Broeck (Harrison Ford) a hard-nosed cop with DC Internal Affairs and Kay Chandler (Kristin Scott Thomas) a US Congresswoman, when their cheating spouses are killed in a plane crash.

With heavy hitters Ford and Thomas on the Marquee, and the subject matter in question, I expected a well crafted, intriguing movie, or at the very least, an entertaining one. If only it were so. Hearts suffers from a flat, poorly written script, with corny formulaic dialogue - several "touching" moments left the audience in hysterics - leaving the actors with little too work with. The problems don't end there.

From its inception this movie was obviously intended as a romantic drama. I can only assume that the subplot involving an investigation of a duo of dirty cops was added as an afterthought to secure the ever-important 18-35 male demographic. The result is a quixotic mess: every time the movie begins to flow and find its legs, it veers off on a tangent, until you longer care what happens.

When the credits finally started rolling after 133 minutes I was positively exhausted. Unless you've seen all the movies that are currently out or are desperate for a pseudo date flick, give this a miss.

I admit I have been a fan of Harrison Ford for many, many years now so it didn't surprise me that I enjoyed his performance here. But I also enjoyed the way the storyline developed and thought the casting was well done. I don't know whether I "buy into" Kristin Scott Thomas as a Congresswoman but she is a fine actress and a beautiful woman. I took notice of her in the first Mission Impossible. Although her part was small she stuck out on the screen.

Here her and Ford play people whose spouses are killed in an airplane crash. They are seated together and this is where the plot takes off. Apparently Ford, a police detective in Wash D.C., discovers that his wife was having an affair. He further discovers that the affair was with the husband of a New England Congresswoman.

The story takes on many subplots as Ford and Thomas find themselves drawn together by revelations of their marriages, the uncovering of deceipt, and the pure grief and anger over the loss of a loved one.

I think the movie is worthwhile either renting or catching on cable.

Just trying to help bringing things in the balance, which won't work anyway when I see all the negative reactions.

Random Hearts is a movie with a very human, but complex theme. Two people meeting each other after their loved ones have died in a plane crash. Then they discover that both of them have had an affair. Coincidence, the affair of Dutch Van den Broeck's wife was with the husband of congress member Kay Chandler. Both character are brilliantly performed by Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas. They have very different ways in dealing with this issue.

Van den Broeck, being a policeman, who never suspected that his wife was having an affair (the movie starts with her inviting him to bed), just wants to know why... ("When was the last time that she spoke the truth to me") Kay Chandler wants to get rid of the thought as soon as possible and tries to concentrate on her job, being elected to congress again, and her daughter ("She must not know what her father has done"). They meet each other in Dutch's search for the truth.

While going through a very difficult time of accepting and dealing with their partner's death and adultery, both Key and Dutch grow towards each other. This is pictured very intensely and beautifully. Kay states is beautifully in the interview she gives in the hospital when Dutch has bee shot, "We are friends, but because of what we have gone through together, we are now more than friends, we are survivors".

There is no real why for the adultery, as Dutch discovers when listening to the voice-mail of the telephone in the apartment that was used for the adultery, when Peyton Van den Broeck says, "Why are we doing what we are doing?".

I don't see why people cannot just enjoy this very intense movie and they think it is a dull and horrible movie. OK, the end was a bit disappointing, but that was probably because I was under the impression that I was watching a romance and romances must have a certain ending. I think, however, psychological drama, may be a more fitting description of this movie.

One thing is for sure: I came into the cinema when the movie started and when the movie ended I went out of the cinema again. In between I was so taken by the beauty of the movie and the intenseness of the development in the two main characters that I just hadn't noticed how much time had gone by.

Random Hearts snuck up on me. Criticized for the implausibility of a) the premise and b) the pairing of an IA cop and a Congresswoman, as well as for its slowness, the film felt just fine to me , and even ended up being surprisingly absorbing. I found my interest engaged as the film cut back and forth between Ford's and Thomas's lives as they first found out about, and dealt in very different ways in very different environments with, their spouses' deaths and the subsequent revelation that they were involved with other people. It could happen; two people's philandering spouses could be on the same plane, the plane could go down, the survivors could be brought together by the aftermath. So what if it's improbable? Improbable is not the same as far-fetched. So..what if it did happen? Why not speculate?

Ford's and Thomas's performances are believable and nuanced. Instead of finding their coupling implausible (opposite sides of the tracks--give me a break) I felt it driven by a grief and betrayal neither party knew how to deal with. The script does not bring them together too soon or too easily, and the end of the film does not resolve their relationship conventionally, either. Where I find it unsatisfying is when the dialogue brings up interesting wrinkles in or insights into the ramifications of the situation, personal and professional, but never seems to pursue any of them very far. And if you make the mistake of thinking about it too hard, Harrison Ford does seem about 10 years too old for the part.

For five and a half bucks at Wal-Mart, with full length director commentary and behind-the-scenes featurette, the DVD is well worth owning. I don't think I would pay $20 for it on a bet, but my wife might. OK, ten...