PLAYING GOD
A Film Review by James Berardinelli
RATING: **1/2 OUT OF ****
United States, 1997 U.S. Release Date: 10/17/97 (wide) Running Length: 1:33 MPAA Classification: R (Violence, profanity, drugs) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: David Duchovny, Angelina Jolie, Timothy Hutton, Michael Massee, Peter Stormare Director: Andy Wilson Producers: Marc Abraham, Laura Bickford Screenplay: Mark Haskell Smith Cinematography: Anthony B. Richmond Music: Richard Hartley U.S. Distributor: Touchstone Pictures
THE X-FILES has been one of the hottest shows on TV for several seasons now, but it has taken until October 1997 for David Duchovny to parlay his success in a weekly series into a motion picture lead. To be sure, Duchovny is no movie neophyte, but, although his resume lists a number of supporting performances (KALIFORNIA, for example), he has never before essayed a role of this magnitude. And Duchovny is very good in PLAYING GOD – it's not difficult to understand his appeal in a recurring part. It's just that the film's plot fails to match the talent of its primary acting asset.
For that matter, it's not fair to base any of PLAYING GOD's failures on the performers. Duchovny, as ex-surgeon Eugene Sands, creates a likable personae for a man with several fatal flaws. Timothy Hutton, who was once pigeonholed into shy, quiet roles, emerges as a credible psycho bad guy who mixes charm with a healthy bloodlust. It's refreshing to see someone other than Dennis Hopper or Ray Liotta is this part. Angelina Jolie (HACKERS) is an exotic femme fatale who manages to appear vulnerable and mysterious at the same time. Peter Stormare (Steve Buscemi's partner in FARGO) is on hand as a Russian gangster, and Michael Massee plays an incompetent FBI agent.
PLAYING GOD opens with an interesting premise. Ten months ago, Dr. Eugene Sands was stripped of his license to practice medicine after it was determined that he operated on (and lost) a patient while high on amphetamines. Since then, he has been frittering his life away, spending money on synthetic heroin in an attempt to forget the one thing in his life that meant anything – his right to function as a doctor. One night, while in a seedy dive purchasing his latest stash of drugs, Eugene comes face-to-face with a gunshot victim. Using his medical skills, he performs a MACGYVER-like surgery on the man (with commonly available implements replacing specialized tools), who survives. Soon afterwards, Eugene is kidnapped and brought to the palatial beach house of small time criminal Raymond Blossom (Hutton), who offers Eugene a job as his unofficial surgeon. The temptation to work again, as well as the allure of Ray's sexy mistress, Claire (Jolie), causes him to seriously consider the offer.
Unfortunately, after a moderately interesting first half-hour, PLAYING GOD turns into a fairly routine informant-on-the-inside story after Eugene is "recruited" by the FBI. There's nothing special in the character interaction – we get all the requisite scenes between Ray and Eugene, Claire and Ray, and Eugene and Claire. And the ending, which involves a car chase and some gunplay, and transforms Dr. Sands into an action hero, could have been scripted by a high-school student. At least the dialogue is smart, albeit with a Tarantino-influenced flavor. And, surprisingly enough, I didn't find Eugene's voiceover narrative to be irritating, primarily because he makes cutting observations rather than stating the obvious (one example: "Hell doesn't always look like hell – on a good day it can look a lot like L.A.).
The fundamental problem with PLAYING GOD is that it doesn't do enough with its basic concept, and ends up becoming like dozens of other movies that can be found in multiplexes at any time of the year. As a thriller, it's dull, and as a dramatic character study, it's shallow. So, although the talents of Duchovny, Jolie, and Hutton keep PLAYING GOD watchable, not even their performances can make this movie invigorating or engaging. Put simply, PLAYING GOD is nothing more than a distraction that offers us an extended opportunity to see Duchovny on the big screen, away from THE X-FILES.
Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@mail.cybernex.net
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