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Emotionally Charged Character Study

Coping with the loss of a spouse is, of course, a traumatic experience; but what would it be like to have to deal with such grief, only to have it exacerbated by the revelation that your husband / wife was having an affair?
Such is the situation for two people in `Random Hearts,' a drama that explores pain and suffering, despair and obsession, and the sense of isolation and need that overcomes Dutch Van Den Broeck (Harrison Ford) and Kay Chandler (Kristin Scott Thomas) in the wake of a tragic plane crash that claims, respectively, his wife and her husband. Director Sydney Pollack weaves an intricate story that begins with the hint of the indiscretion, is followed closely by the tragedy, then quickly escalates into the discovery of the affair by Van Den Broeck, who subsequently locates and contacts Chandler. In what is essentially a character study of how differently the parties involved respond to their grief, and how the knowledge of the infidelity effects them individually, Pollack very deliberately peals away the layers of emotion until the feelings of each are laid bare and exposed. Ultimately it becomes the story of their relationship; of the intimate bond formed between these total strangers who share this dark secret foisted upon them in such an unseemly manner. He is a cop; not only a cop, but an internal affairs cop in Washington, D.C. It's his job to observe people and to notice situations, to know when something is out of place or just not right.
Yet his own wife was having an affair, and he didn't have a clue; and in dealing with his emotions, in sorting it all out, he becomes obsessed with finding out everything. Where did they meet, when and how; how long had it been going on? Who was he, did they have a `place' of their own. Where were they going on that fateful day? Adamant, he pushes himself to find the answers, while Kay Chandler, a congresswoman up for reelection, wants nothing to do with it. Dealing with it in her own way, she opts to pursue a more immediate form of closure on her own, choosing to suppress her feelings while declining Van Den Broeck's attempts to include her in his incessant investigation. Unlike him, to deal with the pain and confusion, she has to move on. She doesn't want to know anything about the affair between her husband and his wife, and not because she feels any less than he does; it's simply a matter of doing what she must to cope, just as he is. The difference: He has to know; she must not.
Ford does a more than capable job with an emotionally charged, challenging role, using just enough restraint to make the obsession into which he's channeled his feelings effective, keeping the tone subtle rather than overblown and demonstrative. Scott Thomas is excellent as well, externalizing the predominately internal turmoil she is experiencing with clarity and precision. She succinctly conveys the depth of her emotions, placing it all just above the surface so that it leaves you with a strong sense of what is really raging just beneath. There's a definite connection established between Ford and Scott Thomas, but no real chemistry; but then again, this isn't a romantic love story, but a story of two people at loose ends helping one another cope with unique, unfathomable circumstances. The excellent supporting cast includes Charles Dutton (Alcee), Bonnie Hunt (Wendy), Dennis Haysbert (Beaufort), Sydney Pollack (Carl), Richard Jenkins (Truman), Paul Guilfoyle (Dick), Peter Coyote (Cullen), Susanna Thompson (Peyton) and Dylan Baker (Richard). `Random Hearts' is a somber film that demonstrates just how vulnerable we all are, and how life as we know it can change in an instant; a solid drama expertly delivered by Pollack and an outstanding cast that leaves the indelible impression that no matter what you think you know, the human heart will forever remain a mystery to us all.
I rate this one 8/10.

Uggg. And it Just Goes On...

While watching this film in theatres, I remember thinking only one of two thoughts continuously: 'When is this movie going to get exciting?' and 'When is this movie going to end?'. This was, without a doubt, the most BORING movie I have ever had the misfortune to see. If it had had a plot twist, even somewhere near the end like in The Sixth Sense, it would have changed things a lot. But, oh, no, it had to just go on and on and on about nothing! I literally tried to fall asleep in the theatre at times, but the boom mike was practically shoved down Harrison Ford's throat, so I couldn't. I don't recommend this film to anyone for any reason. Even if you are a huge Harrison Ford fan.

astonishing

We just saw this dvd in tv for the second time in 2 years. The first time we saw it we saw it with great apreciation, the second time, we were so glad for the oportunity to see it again, reaping the same amount of pleasure once more, so much so, that we went into internet to find a dvd, Amazon of course.
At the same time we looked at reviews, here and there, and were shocked to find hardly anyone likes this film. Astonishing indeed!
Ford, as always, true to the role, perfect; the woman Thomas was superb, (we knew her from English Patient). Sooo much feeling! Pollack, what more can one ask for. How complex you americans are sometimes. Astonishing!

Random Hearts/ Dreary Drivel

This thing should be called, "Droopy and Grumpy Go to Florida (and Have an Assy Affair"). First off, Droopy is incredibly stupid, for no other reason than she HAS to be to advance this dreary plot. The first clue is that she allows Grumpy, who is also scary and creepy, into her life in the first place, after he inappropriately shows up at her philandering husband's funeral and then turns up again at her home and tries to manipulate her to obsess, like he does, about finding out details of their dead spouse's affair (both of whom just died in a plane crash),. Which he does in a weirdly sinister manner, NEVER offering her a sound reason. At this point anyone else would pack up and move, FAST; no goodbyes or forwarding address. Not Droopy. She joins him in Florida, where the plane went down, to help Grumpy dig for information about the ill-fated pair. Despite the brazen stupidity, here, the movie might have improved 10 fold, if there was some twist in the relationship of the the dead spouses -- espionage, embezzlement ANYTHING, thus making it his keen detective instincts (Did I mention he was a detective?) that is fueling his quest for answers-- or even if Grumpy had just been a deluded psychopath, (which is what he seemed to be) instead of just annoyingly obsessive. In fact the relationship between the two is so idiotic, I thought there HAD to be a twist, so I kept waiting for the punch line. No such luck! This incredulous, painfully dull romance was SUPPOSED to be front and center. Adding to the mess, was the script, which was tortuously (sometimes laughably) repetitive. Anyway I think Pollack does not distinguish well between emotional depth AND scary, creep and dreary. Either that or Ford doesn't. Either way no one should have to suffer this hard for someone else's art. Skip this one.

Blech

This was, in a word, BORING! as many people have said the same for this movie. Harrison, what were you thinking? Well, my mom is on your side anyway. She thinks you should have made another Star Wars film instead.
Actually, Harrison Ford was the only good thing about this movie. Weren't to hard on the eyes if you know what I mean. Before I even watched this movie, there was something about the cover that turned me off. I guess I was right, but my mom really wanted to see it so I watched it with her. I should stick to my intuition more often. Someone get me out of here!

Dramatic and real without being Dressy.....

If you think this will be standard Harrison Ford fare, then you may be disappointed. Random Hearts is billed as a thriller, but contains a bare minimum of testosterone-laced action one might be expecting. It does, however, have a serious dose of something that we don't often see in movies today. In-your-face reality.This is a rather intriguing (and to some married couples, possibly more than a little disturbing) story of two people grieving over their respective spouses when they are informed that their bodies were found in a jetliner crash. The kicker being that neither one was supposed to be on the airplane in the first place, and in the second place were having an affair together.Harrison Ford's character, Sergeant Dutch Van Den Broeck, is a Washington D.C. Internal Affairs police officer who discovers that his wife's last minute answering machine message about a business trip is a lie when he stops at her place of work in a panic to verify which flight she was on. When her manager tells him point blank that the wife is most certainly not traveling for work, the glimmer of "something not quite right" sparks in his eye, and his cop instincts kick into high gear.As U.S. Congresswoman Kay Chandler, Kristen Scott Thomas portrays the other surviving spouse. So caught up in her job (fancy that!) and her re-election campaign, she is completely caught off guard when she finds out not only that her husband is now dead, but that he had some extracurricular activities of which she was totally unaware.Some might see the relationship that ensues between these two grieving spouses to be a bit ridiculous or contrived. I think that any psychologist dealing in traumatic situations would be able to tell you in no uncertain terms that it's a very natural reaction for the story to take this turn.Two people, feeling betrayed, lonely, and grieving the loss of a spouse and the very relationships they thought they had turn to each other to find some sort of solace. Perhaps, even, as a way to get even with their deceased and unfaithful spouses in the only way they possibly could.There are definitely some steamy scenes in this film that are a serious departure from Ford's usually more romance-oriented characters. The scenes don't come across as gratuitous though, but filled with pent up need and loss that culminates in these two escaping into each other for a short while.This is not a glamorous film, and with the nature of the subject matter, it certainly shouldn't be one. Some folks who are looking for a traditional Harrison Ford, action-packed thriller could be quite disappointed and might consider the reality of the film to be more disturbing than entertaining. Those folks may wish to wait until the next Tom Clancy or Indiana Jones-type movie comes along. If, however, you want to see some raw emotion and realism on-screen, you'll probably find it to be worth the price of a movie ticket.

Oh dear....

Sitting through this film is like waiting two hours for a bus, and then when it arrives, only to have it break down on you. What I mean by that is you sit through this film with great expectations but the conclusion is no more satisfactory than the rest of the film.It is quite a unique film in that it maintains it's quality throughout the film. Most films have peaks and troughs as plot twists and action sequences heighten the excitement. This film however, was unique in that it managed to maintain a steady trough throughout. This is the only film I have seen this year where I have caught myself looking at my watch - twice.

Just awful

Someone lent this to me on video - I'm not speaking to them again. Mind you it was like two movies for the price of one. About 60 seconds worth of film seemed to join the two 'plots'. No, it was bad, quite simply the worst film I have ever seen!

Kristin Scott Thomas ruins this film

In every scene that Kristin Thomas appears in she drains energy from the film. Harrison Ford's performance was not up to his abilities either. I think the primary plot of this film was intriguing if not particularly believable, but it was padded with needless secondary plots that became more tedious as the movie extended beyond 90 minutes. The tension that would may have been present is lost because of the subpar performances, and the plot deficiencies. Could this be Pollack's fault?While I cannot blame the movie's failings entirely on Thomas, I would like to know who else was considered for the role of Kay Chandler. The only movie where I truly enjoyed a Kristin Thomas performance was The English Patient. This movie was unable to sustain its energy. As the relationship between Kay and Dutch ran its course and the other mysteries are revealed the movie tends to slow and the absence of a strong ending to the movie was disappointing. Some have said that they enjoyed the Kristin Thomas performance in this movie, so perhaps I was just unable to appreciate its value. But, I agree wholeheartedly with one of the other folks who commented on this movie who stated that Thomas is sometimes irritating as Kay. She can be a good actress, but her character is bland. A pity. After an Oscar nod for the 9 Academy Award winner THE English PATIENT, Ms. Thomas took the same way that stars once Oscar nominated or even Oscar winner (Marisa Tomei, Mira Sorvino, Nicolas Cage, just to name a few recent ones) did. The annoying melodrama THE HORSE WHISPERER (with a story similar to RANDOM HEARTS) proved that she took the very wrong way.

Good acting, bad script

Sydney Pollack's Random Hearts could be better, but then you've got a genetic defective in the script. 2 couples, one wife and one husband are having an affair and both die in a plane crash together. The wife's husband (Harrison Ford) and the husband's wife (Kristen Scott Thomas) find each other in the middle of confusion and saddening. Not a good idea to run with that. The leads (Ford and Thomas) try their best to do what they can with the script, but it doesn't get far enough. Sorry Pollack, but It's just OK.
C+

Dreadful doesn't say it all

This was a truly awful film - bad premise, script, acting. A film with uninteresting characters who have nothing to say or do. Why should we care about them? Why are they interested in each other? Are they? The film trudges on senselessly for about 1.5 hours too long. Absolutely everything flopped. I never expected H. Ford to pick such a bomb. Ever since I saw KST in Four Weddings and English Patient I've been waiting for something special from her - in vain. Their last meeting where he suggests they go to a movie someday prompted half the audience to blurt out, as if in chorus - "Just be sure not to go to this turkey!" My recommendation is to steer clear of this one and, if you had the misfortune of sitting through, watch Star Wars (or Raiders) and English Patient five times each to get the bad taste out of your mouth. Yeeeeccchhh!!!!!!!

Random Hearts

This movie is the reason there should be ZERO STAR rating at Amazon. I am quite sure Random Hearts is the worst movie I've ever seen. Certainly the worst movie ever made with a mega-star like Harrison Ford.

Uninspired script, frenetic story line, pathetic performances all combine to make the audience wish that ALL of the characters had gone down in the plane crash together and spared us all the next two hours of agony. I really feel like I wasted part of my life watching this one. But I must admit, it's kinda fun to hate it so much.

Give it a try

Critically lambasted and widely ignored upon its release in 1999, "Random Hearts", a Harrison Ford-Kristin Scott Thomas vehicle, is really not that bad. It's less than stellar and the pieces don't always fit very well, but the performances are actually quite nice, Scott Thomas's especially. While I would not consider this film a masterpiece by any means, fans of these two actors might enjoy renting it some Saturday night.

As good as Ford gets, which is still terrible

It is apparent from the wide range of responses to this movie that its intention and meaning is insufficiently defined. Much of the blame here must go to Harrison Ford and whoever cast him. (He reached his peak in American Graffiti. His career constitutes absolute proof of H. L. Mencken's maxim that no one every went broke underestimating the taste of the American public-and he could have added the American Academy of Motion Pictures.) The central theme of the movie could be uncontrollable suspicion and unhealable scars resulting from the trauma of spousal betrayal OR it could be redemption through a human connection resulting from two people having had a common life-changing experience. Ford, with his two-expression range (dumb and befuddled intermixed with an occasional twisted pseudo-smile), is simply unable to portray either. He never really connects with Thomas (who does her usual superb job), he just doggedly goes about pursuing the details of his dead wife's affair while looking confused and sullen, whereas the movie needed a male lead who could speak clearly without words. It is interesting to speculate on the oucome had Ford's character been played by someone appropriate, say Russell Crow, Brad Pitt, Daniel Day Lewis, or Al Pacino.

Nonetheless, the issue addressed is not superficial and could even be profound. Consequently, I believe that this film had considerable potential, and despite Ford's incompetence, for that reason, has some value.

Drama, Romance, a little Sex, a little Action Good Acting; Saw Twice.

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.

Full of sensitiveness

I am very surprised that one line summary (the one put under the general vote) is used to give a general opinion certainly not shared by all. This one line summary could demolish any picture. I liked it very very much because the story goes very deep, and furthermore it is very complex. How could these two make a lot of speeches in such a situation. I think that the main actors act exactly as if they were involved in a true story.Harrison Ford is really very very good, sincere and human. Kristin Scott Thomas is very good also, but since it is the first time I see her I don't know if she always act this way.

A Chick Flick

I can't resist a good Harrison Ford action movie. But my husband refused to go saying it was going to be a love story. "How can that be?" I asked, "Harrison Ford is in it!" Well, for once in his life, he was right (I hate to admit it.) There was no problem with the acting, but I was deeply disappointed with the lack of Ford's typical action adventures. For some unknown reason, the "sex" scene in the cabin actually made me uncomfortable--as if I were a peeking Tom. And although I felt the female role (the Congresswoman) was believable, the male role was not. How can a man be that intimate with a woman without ever revealing the anger he has regarding a "problem" on the job? And what was he looking for anyway? A farewell note? And what wife encourages her husband to make love to her an hour before her assignation with her lover (especially to the point of making her late to the tryst)? Was she a nymphomaniac or simply oversexed? A starry-eyed woman looking for romance might enjoy this movie, but an action buff would have difficulty with it. It's not a typical Ford movie so take warning not to be disappointed.

Complete Waste of Money

I just have to ask what the executives were thinking when they released this. Did they figure that with Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas that it would be a huge hit. Not that the acting was bad...They had nothing but a crappy script to work with. In hind sight I should have walked out and counted my loss, but I kept expecting some surprise twist at the end. Boy am I kicking myself for that stupidity. I should have spent my money Oktoberfesting. That would have given me the same mind-numbing effect of this piece of $#!# movie.

Random Hearts

The DVD came on a timely basis. I just had a chance to watch it yesterday, 12/6/08. The DVD had a bad place about half way through the movie. I guess that's to be expected with a used copy. I will think twice about ordering used in the future.

Very intense, emotional, but very beautiful

Just 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.