Amazon.com
This amiably amorphous comedy-drama about a myriad of articulate and witty people pondering the meaning of love was originally titled Dancing About Architecture. As one of the lovelorn puts it, in trying to explain the elusive nature of desire, "Talking about love is like dancing about architecture." However, with the way the characters in Willard Carroll's film talk, it sounds like they could dance a samba around Frank Lloyd Wright. This undiscovered gem doesn't have a particular destination in mind, as it weaves in and out of the stories of its high-profile ensemble, but it does offer some hilarious, sharp dialogue and quiet surprises. Carroll focuses his film on four couples, all in one way or another battling with the problems of relationships, ranging from long-marrieds (Gena Rowlands and Sean Connery) to Gen-X club-hoppers (Angelina Jolie and Ryan Phillippe). Ostensibly, part of the film is invested in the mystery of how all these characters are interrelated, but keen viewers will be able to discern the connections among everyone. It's the uniformly excellent performances, though, that make Playing by Heart compulsively watchable. Most striking, surprisingly enough, are Jolie and Phillippe, the youngest members of the cast who reveal heretofore hidden depths of talent. Jolie in particular increases her already-soaring stock as an actress. Equally impressive are Gillian Anderson and Jon Stewart, who transcend their yuppie personas in their awkward enactment of the timeless dating rituals. Other cast members, including Dennis Quaid, Anthony Edwards, Ellen Burstyn, Jay Mohr, and the always luminous Madeleine Stowe, are quite good, though saddled with story lines that are occasionally less than compelling. The only complaint you'll have is that once everyone's connections are revealed, you'll wish this cast had more of an opportunity to interact. The journey toward the film's bittersweet end, however, is marvelous in and of itself. --Mark Englehart
Amazon.co.uk Review
Playing by Heart is an amiably amorphous comedy-drama about a myriad of articulate and witty people pondering the meaning of love. It was originally titled Dancing About Architecture, since, as one of the lovelorn puts it in trying to explain the elusive nature of desire, "Talking about love is like dancing about architecture". However, with the way the characters in Willard Carroll's film talk, it sounds like they could dance a samba around Frank Lloyd Wright. This undiscovered gem doesn't have a particular destination in mind, as it weaves in and out of the stories of its high-profile ensemble, but it does offer some hilarious, sharp dialogue and quiet surprises.

Carroll focuses his film on four couples, all in one way or another battling with the problems of relationships, ranging from long-marrieds (Gena Rowlands and Sean Connery) to Gen-X club-hoppers (Angelina Jolie and Ryan Phillippe). Ostensibly, part of the film is invested in the mystery of how all these characters are interrelated, but keen viewers will be able to discern the connections among them all. It's the uniformly excellent performances, though, that make Playing by Heart compulsively watchable. Most striking, surprisingly enough, are Jolie and Phillippe, the youngest members of the cast who reveal heretofore hidden depths of talent. Jolie in particular increases her already-soaring stock as an actress. Equally impressive are Gillian Anderson and Jon Stewart, who transcend their yuppie personas in their awkward enactment of the timeless dating rituals. Other cast members, including Dennis Quaid, Anthony Edwards, Ellen Burstyn, Jay Mohr and the always-luminous Madeleine Stowe, are quite good, though saddled with story lines that are occasionally less than compelling. The only complaint you'll have is that once everyone's connections are revealed, you'll wish this cast had more of an opportunity to interact. The journey toward the film's bittersweet end, however, is marvellous in and of itself. --Mark Englehart, Amazon.com

Aus der Amazon.de-Redaktion
Leben und Lieben in L.A., dieses liebenswert offen gehaltene Komödiendrama um eine Menge ausdrucksfähiger und gewitzter Menschen, die sich über die Bedeutung der Liebe Gedanken machen, hatte ursprünglich den Titel "Dancing About Architecture". Wie einer der Liebeskranken die schwer definierbare Natur des Verlangens auszudrücken versucht: "Über Liebe zu reden ist wie über Architektur zu tanzen." Wenn man allerdings hört, wie die Figuren in Willard Carrolls Film reden, könnte man glauben, dass sie zu Frank Lloyd Wright einen Samba tanzen könnten!

Dieses unentdeckte Juwel von einem Film hat kein bestimmtes Ziel, da es sich ständig in die Geschichten seines erstklassigen Ensembles hinein- und wieder hinausschlängelt. Es bietet dennoch einiges an urkomischen, gewitzten Dialogen und leisen Überraschungen. Der Regisseur konzentriert sich auf vier Pärchen, die alle auf irgendeine Art mit den üblichen Beziehungsproblemen zu kämpfen haben. Das Spektrum reicht vom älteren, seit einer Ewigkeit verheirateten Ehepaar (Gena Rowlands und Sean Connery) bis hin zum Generation-X-Clubber-Paar (Angelina Jolie und Ryan Phillippe). Scheinbar investiert der Film jede Menge Zeit darin zu entschlüsseln, wie sich all diese Charaktere zueinander verhalten. Scharfe Beobachter werden jedoch die Verbindungen zwischen allen Beteiligten bald erkennen.

Was Leben und Lieben in L.A. aber wirklich sehenswert macht, sind die durchweg ausgezeichneten Darbietungen. Am Auffallendsten sind -- überraschenderweise -- Jolie und Phillippe, die jüngsten Mitglieder der Besetzung, die bisher ungeahnte Talente zum Vorschein bringen. Insbesondere Jolie erhöht ihren ständig steigenden Marktwert als Schauspielerin um einiges. Gleichermaßen beeindruckend sind Gillian Anderson und Jon Stewart, die durch ihre unbeholfene Darstellung zeitloser Rendezvous-Rituale ihre ewige Yuppie-Ausstrahlung überwinden. Andere Darsteller, darunter Dennis Quaid, Anthony Edwards, Ellen Burstyn, Jay Mohr und die stets brillante Madeleine Stowe, sind ebenfalls gut, werden aber durch weniger zwingende Handlungsstränge eingeschränkt. Die einzige echte Beanstandung, die man vorbringen könnte, wäre die, dass man sich, nachdem alle Querverbindungen verraten wurden, wünscht, dass diese Besetzung mehr Gelegenheit zur Interaktion gehabt hätte. Die Reise zum bittersüßen Ende des Films an sich ist jedoch fabelhaft. --Mark Englehart