Random Hearts Review
by "Berge Garabedian" (drsuess AT microtec DOT net)October 5th, 1999
RANDOM HEARTS
RATING: 6 / 10 --> Barely recommendable
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Random snores? Not for me, but my buddy to the left who, admittedly was surviving on only two hours of sleep, did happen to nod off from time to time during this film's two hours and fifteen minute run. I managed, but did find this to be a passable film at best, with Ford offering us the worst haircut of his career, and proof that "range" is not his strongest suit as an actor.
PLOT:
A police sergeant's wife dies in a plane crash. As if that wasn't bad enough, he soon finds out that she was on the plane with a man with whom she was having an affair. For closure's sake, the cop decides to track down the widowing wife of the man who she was banging. It turns out that the widow, a congresswoman, was also unaware of their secret relationship, and would rather just leave it under wraps. Over time, the grieving duo find more than just betrayal in common and begin to "console" one another.
CRITIQUE:
Do you really need 133 minutes to tell a pretty standard story? The answer is no. This film goes about half an hour too long, offers a solid performance by Kristin Scott Thomas, a stoic showing by Ford and his goofy-looking earring, a completely forgettable subplot, but ultimately, didn't bore me. The closest film to which I could compare this one would be MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE (6.5/10) with Kevin Costner. It's about grieving, getting over someone, needing closure, and yes, finding love in places which you'd least expect it. I liked MESSAGE a little better because of the Costner factor (Ford lacks the charm and the romantic appeal of a better-looking Costner), and the more believable romance scenes. On the other hand, I did appreciate the ending to this film much more than the one offered by the BOTTLE, but enough about the comparisons!
The two things which could have easily made this film so much better is 1) If they had gotten completely rid of the ridiculously obvious plot device involving Ford and his job as a cop, which was not only uninteresting, but ultimately swayed our interest and made the film 20-25 minutes longer, and 2) Given the part played by Ford to a better looking man, a bigger charmer and an actor who would have been able to convey a little more emotion than a simple raised eyebrow every now and again. If you pay close attention to Harry's "crying scene", you will note that it actually lasts less than three real seconds (Don't hold back, Indy!). Very weird. Kristin Scott Thomas, on the other hand, managed to hold a decent American accent for the most part of the movie, and did convey a deeper sense of loss and grieving, two feelings which seemed completely absent from Ford's "despondent" (?) character.
So why am I still recommending this film, albeit barely? Well, the premise is interesting, the development is well done, Sydney Pollack is really good in it, and the lightly surprising ending kind of helped levitate this film past my basic cinematic recommendation line. No need to see it in the theatres though. Definitely a lazy night rental with the loved one, so that you could forward the parts which should have been cut out. And remember, this is a character-driven film, not plot. If the characters don't seem interesting to you, skip this adult drama and drum up a romantic evening of your own. You can never have too many of those!
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars:
Ironically, director Sydney Pollack lost his own son in a plane crash in 1993. Sydney was born in Lafayette, Indiana.
Harrison Ford is listed as one of 50 people barred from entering Tibet. Disney clashed with Chinese officials over the 1997 Martin Scorsese film KUNDUN which Ford's wife, Melissa Mathison, wrote. She also wrote the screenplay for the worldly popular Steven Spielberg film, E.T. the EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL.
Over the past 15 years, at least five different screenwriters, two directors, James L. Brooks and Ivan Reitman, plenty of actors, including Dustin Hoffman, have been connected to this film based on Warren Adler's 1984 novel. Of Adler's 25 published novels, ten have either been bought or optioned for films. His novel "War of the Roses" became a film starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.
Screenwriter Kurt Luedtke won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay based on Material from Another Medium for his work with Sydney Pollack on OUT OF AFRICA, which also won Best Picture, and Best Director for Pollack. Nepotism-alert: As we see director Sydney Pollack let brother Bernie Pollack take care of the costume design for this picture. To be fair to ol' Bernie, he has a reputation of his own in this industry. He also dressed the cast of MESSAGE IN THE BOTTLE, SABRINA (Sydney Pollack film) and HAVANA (Sydney Pollack film), amongst others... :)
This film had a reported budget of $54 Million.
Review Date: October 4, 1999
Director: Sydney Pollack
Writer: Kurt Luedtke
Producers: Sydney Pollack and Marykay Powell
Actors: Harrison Ford as Dutch Van Der Broeck
Kristin Scott Thomas as Kay Chandler
Genre: Drama
Year of Release: 1999
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(c) 1999 Berge Garabedian
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
