Random Hearts Review
by James Sanford (jamessanford AT earthlink DOT net)January 9th, 2000
Just in time for the first frost of the season comes "Random Hearts," a romance between two ice cubes that moves at the speed of a glacier.
Screenwriters have reportedly struggled for years to develop Warren Adler's novel into a workable script, and the final version, penned by Kurt Luedtke ("Out of Africa"), shows why the story has taken so long to get to the cinema. It's much easier to cover a character's transition from distraught, mournful soul to upbeat survivor in a 300-page book than in a two-hour movie. The challenge flummoxes not only Luedtke, but also the usually unflappable Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas, both of whom move self-consciously through most of the film.
But if "Hearts" is a dramatic fizzle, Sydney Pollack's direction and the sumptuous photography of Philippe Rousselot ensure it's still watchable. The A-list supporting cast (Charles Dutton, Bonnie Hunt, Dylan Baker, etc.) is well-utilized and everything looks glorious, from the magnificently colored Maryland forests to the pricey bottles of wine served at a political fundraiser. Production designer Barbara Ling has engineered such an eye-pleasing series of locations for the drama that even a backwoods cabin looks as if it was personally decorated by Martha Stewart.
All this glamor, however, surrounds a pair of very cold fish. William "Dutch" Van Den Broeck (Ford) is a tight-lipped Washington D.C. internal affairs sergeant, while Kay Chandler (Thomas) is a New Hampshire Congresswoman embroiled in a tough re-election campaign. Both are utterly absorbed in their work, so it's no wonder their respective spouses Peyton (Susanna Thompson) and Cullen (Peter Coyote) manage to sneak off together and carry on an affair. Besides, don't people with names like Cullen and Peyton always wind up together after all? When the lovebirds' flight to Miami crashes and Dutch drops everything to investigate, all is revealed. The movie's strongest scenes come in this early stretch, as Pollock and Ford do an expert job of capturing the desperation and raw emotions that lead up to that wrenching moment when all Dutch's worst fears are realized.
For reasons never made particularly clear, Dutch feels compelled to track down kay and confront her with the evidence he's found. At first, she's aloof -- "First class isn't what it used to be. I don't think it's worth the money," Kay blithely informs him when told Cullen and Peyton were sitting together in 3A and 3B -- but eventually she becomes angry and resentful. Dutch, for his part, continues to be resolutely morose.
Is shared grief a fertile ground for romance? Most would argue it's not, but "Hearts" plows forward nevertheless, determined to build something meaningful on this fragile foundation. The rambling plot is punctuated with stony silences, vodka-soaked confessions and accusing looks, all of which we can assume are meant to suggest smoldering passion.
Instead, these things serve as a lead-in to a bedroom scene in which you half-expect to see the lover's breath. Dutch can barely manage an interested look at Kay, and as Republican women go, she has the unbridled sensuality of Nancy Reagan. Ford and Thomas have scored as romantic leads with other partners in the past, but as a couple they generate next to nothing.
"Sooner or later, everybody knows everything," Dutch muses at one point, and in practically no time at all viewers will realize "Random Hearts" is simply an elegantly appointed igloo. James Sanford
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.
