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Writer/director Willard Carroll, the director of "Playing by Heart", has constructed a multi storied film where different narratives are seen completely without any idea how they are connected until the end. This device has been employed by other directors, notably, Robert Altman. Whereas Mr. Altman interconnects his scenes differently, Mr. Carroll, keeps the stories separate, only to have them come together at the end.

The director was exceptionally lucky in amassing this talented cast to appear in his film. Viewers of all ages will identify with the different stories since they resonate with different age groups. Most comments submitted to IMDb seem to be from young viewers who think the best thing in the movie are Joan and Keenan. While this couple do a good job, there are other good moments involving some of the other couples we see in the film.

Sean Connery and Gena Rowlands make an excellent couple. Angelina Jolie and Ryan Phillippe do also good work in the film. But Madeleine Stowe and Gillian Anderson have more interesting characters. Same could be said about Dennis Quaid, who makes a mark as Hugh, the tormented man who discovers his wife's infidelity. Anthony Edwards, Ellen Burstyn, Jay Mohr, and a surprising Jon Stewart are among the actors seen in minor roles.

The film will delight audiences because the film catches one's imagination from the beginning.

How did a movie like this ever even get made? "Playing By Heart" has a myriad of notable actors meandering through painfully sluggish dialogue as they define, discuss and detail their individual relationships, ad-nauseum .

Writer-Director Willard Carroll must know where a body is buried in Hollywood, as it is the only explanation for this mess to ever get poured into a motion picture camera. The film jumps between one unrelated story to the other, giving no time for characters or plot to develop. To ensure that the viewer stays completely frustrated, many of the characters develop in directions that are never re-addressed by the film, leading the viewer down several of these meaningless dead-ends. We get to follow Dennis Quaide as he plays out invented characters in a seemingly endless string of bars, all in the name of his acting class. Beware of those who want to pin this film as Sean Connery's best role. Rent "The Untouchables" if you have any doubt. Despite a noble effort by Connery and others, the dialogue and overall sloppy directing will make the viewer hard-pressed to find any real teeth in the characters. "Playing By Heart" is a complete disappointment. It is neither romantic nor insightful. It is plentiful in mediocrity.

Sean Connery leads an all star cast in an extraordinary yet odd film. I didn't really understand this film until I reached the end and then all the pieces fell into place. I had to see it twice to really grasp what the plot was all about.

The story followed four different couples; married, engaged, dating and cheating. Gillian Anderson and Jon Stewart literally bumped into each other and are about to venture out on a first date.

Angelina Jolie is crazy for a guy she met at the club (Ryan Phillipe), Anthony Edwards and Madeline Stowe are cheating on their respective spouses. This makes for an interesting viewing and ending, which was a complete twist, and a pleasant shock. "Playing By Heart" has a lot of complex story lines that really works.

This was a film of epic proportions and showed what it had to take to maintain relationships and what love really is and what it will do if people truly love their spouses. I was impressed with everyone's performance; however, I must point out the most outstanding one, which was by Angelina Jolie. Jolie has finally come out from her father's shadow and created one heck of a resume of films that includes "Gia" and "The Bone Collector" among others.

I highly recommend this film to everyone.

As I watched "Playing by Heart", I found myself quite frustrated by the film. It consisted of many different stories about love...I felt too many. I sat there wishing the film had instead just focused on one...or perhaps two. After all, the stories were interesting and the acting quite formidable....but each story was interrupted repeatedly and each story was woven into a bigger tale. However, as the film progressed, I found myself not minding its structure...which was a lot like a later film, "Love Actually".

Instead of discussing each of the love stories, I'd rather just say that each sucked me in...a few, more than others. And, the acting was exceptional...and had me on the verge of tears several times. Overall, it's a lovely film....and one I cannot understand how it received two thumbs down from Siskel and Ebert....that I just find confusing because there's so much to like here.

By the way, there was one thing I really did NOT like and that the DVD had no captions of any sort. It's a shame as I am a bit hard of hearing and really had to struggle to hear some of the dialog...particular at the night club sequences.

Take an all-star cast of Gillian Anderson, Ellen Burstyn, Sean Connery, Anthony Edwards, Angelina Jolie, Jay Mohr, Ryan Phillippe, Dennis Quaid, Gena Rowlands, Jon Stewart, and Madeleine Stowe; add terrific character development, a lot of emotion, and a little plot, and you get "Playing by Heart."

Hannah and Paul (Rowlands and Connery) are an aging couple trying to work through challenges new and old. Mark (Mohr) is dying of AIDS, and spends his last week on earth in a Chicago hospital talking to his mother (Burstyn). Hugh (Quaid) gets drunk and tells tragic stories to women in bars. Trendy, philosophical Joan (Jolie) tries to date the reclusive, mysterious Keenan (Phillippe), who refuses to date. Meredith (Anderson) has been "scalded" by so many men that she is afraid to get too close to Trent (Stewart). And Gracie and Roger (Stowe and Edwards) have an affair in an LA hotel; he wants more while she doesn't.

The stories seem independent, and I spent the whole movie wondering how they all intertwine. (They all come together in the last 20 minutes.) Not much plot, but the characters are very well developed, the acting is superb, and life's humor and tragedy is well mixed.

Rated R for language and mature content, but it probably could have gotten away with a PG13.