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.
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ffreemon16 June 2012
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cliffw10 October 1999Its hard to describe just how SSSLOOOOOOOOWWW this movie is. It felt like a 4 hour movie. The only thing that kept me in my chair was my hope that SOMETHING interesting was going to happen, a plot twist...ANYTHING..............nothing happens so wait for the video and rent it as a sleep-aide.
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SnoopyStyle20 January 2014Kay (Kristin Scott Thomas) is a political newbie running for office. Her husband is played by Peter Coyote. Dutch (Harrison Ford) is police IA investigator and he thinks his marriage to Peyton (Susanna Thompson) is fine. However Dutch finds that his wife died in a plane crash suspecting that she's having an affair.
Director Sydney Pollack has made a very undramatic movie. It's slow moving. The first half of the movie meanders to the point of meaninglessness. When the mystery of their affair start to surface, Dutch goes into mean investigating machine mode. Dutch investigating was interesting for about 10 minutes, but the affair is never allowed to be in doubt. The question becomes where is the mystery. Kay puts it best. They're gone. There isn't even a possibility of divorce. So what's the point of the movie.
I guess the point is for these two leads to work out their anger and their loss together. It is just so slow with the jazzy trumpets and soft piano. Sydney Pollack thinks this is more profound that it actually is. The two leads have no chemistry. Harrison Ford is horribly cold. The romance is nothing more than melodrama. His police investigation is nothing but a sideshow. I would have more respect for the movie if Dutch goes ahead and shoots the suspect. If this movie is about Kay and only about Kay, the story has a little bit of potential. There is a bit more on her side with her daughter and political ramifications. -
Shapster1127 February 2001I 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. -
d1315 January 2001I would have been more entertained by watching my toenails grow. This movie told its whole story in the first fifteen minutes and then rode out the last 2 hours reveling in some sort of pseudo-cathartic angst painted up to look like sorrow and passion but, underneath, was nothing but an excuse for Kristin Scott Thomas to look pained and Harrison Ford to mumble a lot. I wish I could call this just a chick flick, but it's not even that. This was "Hanover Street", but without the plot. This was every movie you never wanted to see wrapped up and thrown at you all at once.
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nelsoneddy26 February 2006Random 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... -
Pia-1223 December 1999I have to say that Random Hearts is one of the worst films I have ever seen. Some people said about it, you can only understand it if you have life experience. The problem with this movie, as far as I'm concerned, is that there is no moral answer to the question of betrayal and the loss of a life. The figures who are ought to have a lifetime experience act very immature in my opinion. I simply did not understand the protagonists aim. Especially, his attitude of moaning the death of his wife on the one hand and falling for another one so easily on the other is very questionable. It is a difficult subject and the makers did not succeed in giving it some sense. I was frustrated because the main figures did not find a solution to the things which bothered them. All in all it is a very frustrating film.
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Gandalf-6410 December 1999Just 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. -
This dragged on and on. It was no good, it was dull, and it's definitely not worth seeing. Over 2 hours of a yawnfest, this is the definition of tiresome.
Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas are both good actors. Quite why they picked up a limp biscuit film such as this I don't know.
Her husband and his wife both die in a plane crash, and it turns out that they were having an affair.
Let's just say you can fill in the blanks yourself from knowing just this, and you'd be accurate.
The meaningful looks, the irritating romantic music and more. Yuck. -
sol-kay22 October 2009**SPOILERS** Overlong and somewhat confusing drama involving an airplane crash, Southern Airline flight from D.C to Miami, where two of the crash victims were cheating on their spouses.
It's not much later that one of those being cheated on Washington D.C internal affair police Sgt. Dutch Van Den Broeck, Harrison Ford, got wind from her job that his old lady Peyton, Susanna Thompson, was on a flight to Miami to do a fashion shoot for her employer Sacks 5th Av of Washington D.C. Desperately trying to find out if Peyton was on the doomed flight Ducth not only finds out that she was, through a morgue photo at the crash site, but she was using an assumed name! Peyton was using the name of the wife of the person that booked the flight Cullen Chandler, Peter Coyote. Things get even more strange when it's discovered that the late Mr. Chandler's wife, who he's been cheating on, is non other then New Hampshire congresswoman Kay Chandler, Kristin Scott Thomas, who's now in a life and death campaign for reelection!
The movie brings the two, Dutch & Kay, together in finding if in fact it's true that they were being cheated on by their marriage partners. And in the process they end up falling in love with each other! If it was just that the film "Random Hearts" would have made for a pretty good adult love story. Instead by putting into the film murder drug dealing both police corruption and political chicanery the movie at times was almost impossible to follow!
Dutch who should have taken a leave of absent from the D.C Police Department in order for him to overcome his grief goes the exact opposite direction. Instead he goes full blast in busting fellow D.C cop George Beauford, Dennis Haysbert, for drug dealing by him getting, which is very unprofessional on Dutch's part, very personal about it. This not only leads to Dutch's top informant to get murdered but Dutch almost ending up murdered himself! Or at the least losing his job or being put behind bars for taking the law into his own hands! All of this together with Dutch trying to find out if his wife Peyton was untrue to him seemed too much for the poor guy to handle. As for Kay she had far more pressing problems in the fact if her dead husband's infidelity became public it could very well screw her out of a second term in the US Congress!
***SPOILERS*** With the film being much too long, 133 minutes, as well as complicated and confusing you completely lose interest in it at about the one hour mark! It takes a while to realize what exactly Dutch & Kay are so desperately looking for, their cheating partners secret love nest, and when they, independent of each other, finally find it what was the big shocking surprise anyway! It only proved to Dutch & Kay, what we in the audience knew all along, what should have been obvious to them right from the very beginning of the movie! -
moonspinner5523 August 2001Unusually cold and silly drama from director Sydney Pollack. Soapy plot revolves around adulterous couple perishing in a plane wreck, leaving their spouses to find eachother and connect on their own intimate level. Romance-novel writing gets sluggish treatment, although I thought the performances by leads Harrison Ford and Kristen Scott-Thomas were fine. Slick production holds interest, even though the plot keeps covering the same ground, and never builds any emotional momentum. As a result, the climax in the airport is a big 'So What?'
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True, there are some goofs, for the one who wants to find them. They're not important, though.
The primary feature of this film is watching veteran expert actors do their craft. Kristin Scott Thomas is beautiful and plays well the part of a strong woman, but one who has been hurt. Same for Harrison Ford, who, for the ladies, is just as beau as Kristin is belle for us guys.
Their hurt at the hands of their adulterous spouses brings them together in an awkward manner, but one in which they find support in each other. How they evoke their hurt feelings and their humanity within on th screen is why these are such sought performers. The viewer cannot help but feel what they feel, nor can one help wanting to cheer them when they're together.
Yes, there are several action scenes involving angry corrupt cops, but they only spice it up a little, and are not a significant part of the movie.
For the lover of music, Dave Grusin provides a superb Jazz based background, featuring trumpeter Terrence Blanchard. Like the actors, Grusin shows why he is one of the most sought musical consultants in the movie business. Blanchard shows why he's one the premiere trumpeters on the scene.
Not a movie for the lovers of guts, blood, and gore. But for those who want to see a lot of what makes us feel inside, watch a beautiful English actress with big expressive blue eyes who can act, like Harrison Ford, to the endless soothing accompaniment courtesy of Dave Grusin and Terrence Blanchard, this is a move to watch with someone you love. Preferably in bed.
I thought it deserved at least an 8. -
bkoganbing27 June 2015Sydney Pollack kept a tight directorial rein on his stars and his cast in Random Hearts. As a result you get a romantic film both tender and expressive in their faces. Good thing that Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas have faces that the camera loves.
They are the most unlikeliest of lovers. The only other way that these two would meet is if Washington, DC cop Ford was ever assigned to a security detail Representative Thomas. Unlikely as Ford's assignment is Internal Affairs. But somewhere their spouses Susanna Thompson and Peter Coyote did meet. In fact they've been meeting regularly for some time now.
It all comes to light when the two are killed in a plane crash that goes down in the Potomac River. As one of them is traveling under an assumed name and the other lied about her destination it does take someone with the mind of an investigator to track it down. Depending on your point of view of how fortunate for Ford that he is one.
Both Ford and Thomas are dealing with other issues. Ford and his partner Charles Dutton have just busted Dennis Haysbert, a cop who was shaking down social club operators for protection money. In fact in a very interesting hostage scene Ford puts Haysbert in custody. You have to see the film alone for how he handles that.
As for Thomas she's facing a multi-millionaire opponent for her seat which is one of the two in New Hampshire. Not really a good time for dirty laundry to be aired. We never see her opponent, but he's one of those family values types so we know exactly what she can expect.
Still these two become a comfort to each other and soon enough become quite a bit more. How their worlds eventually publicly intersect is for you to see Random Hearts.
In a modern urban setting Random Hearts is a love story, the kind that Hollywood used to do so well. Bid kudos to Sydney Pollack and his stars and cast for delivering on this one. -
TOMASBBloodhound10 April 2011With a story like this, maybe it couldn't have been paced well anyway. But Random Hearts is like a glossy, stillborn mess that just sort of sits there and waits for you to decide when to turn the channel. Normally the late Sydney Pollack brought a lot more to his films, but here he must have thought star power could be enough. The story is implausible at best, and maybe just a step ahead of ludicrous. Tough Internal Affairs cop and female congressman from New Hampshire lose their spouses in a plane crash. The congresswoman wants to forget the whole thing and move on, but the inquisitive nature of the cop keeps him searching for answers. Finally, after the viewer has long since lost interest in the movie, the two begin an affair as hard to believe as Ted Danson and Whoopie Goldberg. There is WAY too much time dedicated to a subplot involving crooked cops, and this whole angle should have been written out. The whole thing plays out very, very slowly.
The acting is good enough, and it is the film's only saving grace. Ford is dour and reserved as the grizzled cop. Thomas is believable and even likable as the politician whose biggest care seems to be if she should run for office again or not. She seems at peace instantly when she learns of her husband's death. The thought of these two having an affair together just isn't plausible, though. No way. It would be easier to take if the film didn't waste so much time with its subplots and parsed dialog. Pollack tries to use similar music to what he used in The Firm to liven things up, but this only makes us recall how much better that film was. And it was far from great. But that is the subject of another review perhaps some day.
Was there a good way to tell such a contrived story? Not sure, but this film is a failure. In many ways, it began the downfall of Harrison Ford who has seen his career sag in recent years. Even though it was no classic, the last Indiana Jones film was the best work he's done in years. Random Hearts is essentially a waste of a good cast, director, and over two hours of your time. 4 of 10 stars.
The Hound. -
Buddy-515 March 2000Has there ever been a more dour, dreary and depressing movie romance than "Random Hearts," a film that drones on for 131 grueling minutes and traps two wonderful actors, Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas, in its diabolical clutches?
Ford is a police sergeant working in internal affairs and Thomas is a New Hampshire congresswoman whose paths cross when their spouses, who are having a secret affair with each other, die in a plane crash. Drawn together by both circumstance and grief, the two begin a tentative love affair despite the many complications it sets up.
The actors do their best given the stark limitations of portraying two people overcome with despair, but the audience is nevertheless subjected to more than two hours of unrelieved gloominess. In a sense, it is a bit of a relief to see a romantic film that is not all lightheartedness and carefree silliness, but a subject as profound as the study of grief and loss on the human psyche demands a less conventional, more imaginative and serious a format than this film provides. (The brilliant film, "Fearless," from 1993 is a startling case in point). The actions of the characters often ring false as when, for instance, the two grieving spouses, sitting in a car, suddenly begin grappling in a wild sexual frenzy, a moment that elicits giggles from the audience because it is so lacking in motivation and preparation. Moreover, the film pads out its narrative by constantly cutting away to an irrelevant and wholly underdeveloped subplot involving Ford's pursuit of a murderous cop - a sideshow that results in a completely ludicrous shooting scene that undercuts the seriousness of the film's purpose.
"Random Hearts" is an obvious and, perhaps, even admirable attempt to bring a more mature, adult-oriented love story to the screen. It's a shame, then, that all involved seem to have confused dreariness with profundity and gloominess with depth. -
Shiva-1110 October 1999Random 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 picked up this dvd for 50 cents because it had Harrison Ford. It was a watchable film but not particularly my favorite kind. It's a very slow drama-mystery-thriller with some romance. I did like how the suspense is built slowly and it gets more thrilling as the plot unravels. But the movie felt a little bit too long for me.
So... not my actual favorite, but not a bad movie either, and even though I thought I'd get rid of the dvd, thinking about the movie now makes me feel I might actually want to watch it again someday. A quite "adult" thriller, and I don't mean nudity, but, like, the fact that it's mostly about the characters and their relations, and it's very absent of noisy action. If that sounds good to you, check it out. -
Seeing this movie makes you wonder whether Harrison even read the script. Such incredibly unlikely events occur, yet they bear no theatrical merit whatsoever, as they leave the viewer merely baffled at the characters' actions.
Don't bother with this Ford flick. The Mosquito Coast rules in comparison. -
ilovedolby28 February 2003There are those out there who feel that `Random Hearts' is too dull a motion picture. However, you have to look past the 2 hours and 13 minutes running time. There is this incredible story about a man who looses his wife in a tragic plane crash. However, what's even more tragic is the fact that she was having an affair with a man who was married to a Congresswoman. Strong performances from Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas make this a good movie. Harrison Ford ignites the screen with his presence as he tries to figure out why in what appeared to be a perfect marriage did his wife cheat on him. `There's has to be something. Some sign of something!' says Ford. But perhaps the answer that he must accept is Thomas' reply, `You'll never find what you're looking for.' Sydney Pollack's direction is good, but the film does feel a bit long at times. Nonetheless, it works in the end. ***
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kyoo28 February 2001Whoo, thank god it had an end, a bad one at that, but at least it ended. I was beginning to think I had died and was in purgatory, making amends for past sins, by having to sit through what is arguably the slowest moving movie I have seen in a very long time.
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FlickJunkie-21 March 2000This film started out with everything a producer could hope for. It had a great director, a bona fide superstar as leading man, a terrific female lead and an interesting premise for the story. The beginning of the film is masterful. The spouses of two air crash victims go about the routines of their lives as the news of the disaster creeps into the fringes of their consciousness. As most of us do, they regard the news with a disconnected interest, another news story about strangers dying. Suddenly, it occurs to Dutch (Harrison Ford) that his wife said she was going to Miami and he discovers two awful truths, that she was killed and that she was traveling with another man. He then informs the wife of that man that her husband was on the plane. The treatment of this entire chain of events was extraordinarily well done.
Unfortunately, after this the story bogs down and becomes highly contrived. Dutch then becomes obsessed with knowing everything about the illicit relationship. This is almost believable. But he also drags Kay, (Kristin Scott Thomas) into the vortex and they develop this complicated relationship of grief, passion and maybe even love. Not so believable.
The microscopic character study that ensues of the complex emotions and reactions of the characters is well done, but the viewers find themselves wondering why they have to watch it since most sane people would just have let it go. After all, the offenders are dead, and little is to be gained by knowing the details of the betrayal.
The story also introduces a completely superfluous subplot about the pursuit of a crooked cop by Dutch, a detective in internal affairs. The only distant connection to the plot is the fact that Kay and Dutch are together during the shootout with the bad cop.
As filmmaking, this film is first rate as would be expected from Sydney Pollack. The color and exposures were particularly rich and the scenes compelling. I particularly liked the scenes from the tango nightclub. There were a broad range of different settings and situations and all were handled with great realism.
Harrison Ford was asked to play a character quite different from his customary strong, direct and dynamic roles. This character was far more complex than any he ever attempted and Ford didn't have the range necessary to give a satisfying performance. He was fine in the cop scenes, but in the scenes with Kristin Scott Thomas he was overly subdued, almost like he was medicated. This made his performance seem lifeless.
Kristin Scott Thomas, on the other had was brilliant. She showed incredible command of all the myriad emotional states that Kay sustained. As a British actress playing an American, her accent was flawless, though the character being from New Hampshire should have had a New England accent.
Overall, I gave this film a 7/10. Despite the plot flaws, it was well constructed and as a character study it was excellent. Most viewers will find such in-depth character studies slow and boring, so if you are looking for pace, you might want to pass on this film. -
lllama22 July 2000I was embarrassed for Harrison Ford when I watched this flick, which I fast-forwarded a few times due to the long scenes during which nothing happened. Apparently, Ford was embarrassed, as well, because he didn't seem to be acting, but rather, walking around half-asleep.
They say "Seinfeld" was a show about nothing. Well, this was a movie about nothing. While "Seinfeld" was able to create nine fun-filled years based on nothing, this movie created nothing out of a number of solid possibilities. Seeds of plot were strewn around, but nothing was allowed to grow. The plotlines were undeveloped. The characters were undeveloped. And with all of that "nothing" happening, the creators still found plenty of room for filler. I was amazed. ("The Producers" would have created a successful flop in "Springtime for Hitler" if they'd only taken lessons from the creators of this waste of film.)
The high point of the film, for me, was seeing that Kristen Scott Thomas has a pretty smile and lovely eyes. The only other movie I've seen her in was "Die Hard with a Vengeance," in which she played her part as the savage bitch to the hilt. In the former role she was excellent, so much that I felt anger and hatred at watching her character. In this movie she appeared to do the best she could under the circumstances.
The creators seemed to be attempting to romanticize adultery, making it the norm, and suggesting that those who remain faithful to their spouses must lead boring lives. With that attitude they created a shaky relationship between the two main characters, one that gave the audience no reason whatsoever to care about it. Certainly the movie was faithful to its title, but WHO CARES? Precisely! -
This is the most ludicrously underrated movie out of the thousands I've looked at on this site. I can understand why most American moviegoers would not like it, as it is very nearly unique. The only movie I've seen that it might be likened to is Brief Encounter (the original English version with Trevor Howard, please), but this film is more subtle and interesting than the English classic.
Random hearts is a story about two people, a man and a woman, whom the fates have mockingly drawn together for no better reason than their shared nightmare of betrayal, yet as it turns out their very different personalities perfectly complement each other in their efforts to cope and to find the antidote to their poisoned lives - which turns out to be perfect honesty with respect to each other, and integrity with respect to themselves.
The movie itself is as honest and integral as its protagonists learn to be. Contrary to what some have said, the plot is both plausible and realistic, and all the little opportunities for over-dramatization that most American directors and actors cannot resist, are studiously avoided. And since the protagonists are intelligent but not particularly articulate, still less self-aware (which is what the movie is about), meanings and dramatic passages are mostly conveyed visually, and by first rate acting and direction, rather than editorially, via the script. Overall, the tone is one of somber realism, which creates the ideal backdrop for the subtly dramatic re-emergence of the underlying humanity and vitality of the characters, in the wake of their mutual trauma.
I believe my characterization of this movie makes it fairly self-evident why so many Hollywood-conditioned viewers find this movie flat, boring, and unsatisfying, and I suppose that they also feel cheated because this is not a typical Harrison Ford movie, any more than Bridges of Madison County is a typical Clint Eastwood movie. Yet both of these films are among the best that either actor has ever done.
Many seem to see the casting of Kristin Scott Thomas opposite Ford as bizarre, but I see it as brilliant. A principal theme of this movie is to probe for the common humanity that often underlies superficial differences of background, personality, and presentation, and to remind us of what is truly important in our character and our relationships. -
patrick320110 August 2002Yes, I can see this film is never going to pack cinemas or win awards, but it's not trite and is quite well acted. This isn't a film to watch because you want a story, or escape, or a smile. It won't make you feel better about life.
But if you're feeling morose, and quiet, and aren't feeling particularly optimistic about how things will turn out, you might find some kind of solace in the aimless wandering of Ford and Thomas' characters. When something very bad happens to you, you do feel confused and battered, and the lead characters in Random Hearts reflect this well.
The criminal sub-plot does feel a bit redundant, like it's strayed in from another film. Perhaps it was some kind of attempt to keep a fig leaf of commerciality on what is basically a couple of hours of numb meditation, although I haven't read the original novel so I don't know if it had some greater significance that I missed.
Some of the other reviews on here quite rightly call Random Hearts noir and cathartic, the film equivalent not so much of watching paint dry as watching a river flow. -
porowski14 November 2004A friend gave me this movie because she liked it. I decided I would finally watch it. It was sooooooo long. I kept waiting for the suspense to happen but it never did. I kept waiting for something to happen after the opening scenes, and it never did. I stopped the movie and came back later. I actually forced myself to watch the rest of it hoping it would get better. It got worse. I kept asking myself, who are these people? Do they have feelings? are they just robots? I'm glad I didn't pay to see it or pay to rent it. The end would have been better if Dutch died from the gunshot wound. At least we would have gotten some emotion from the audience. Or maybe not.