Playing God (film)

Infobox Film
name = Playing God


image_size =
caption = Theatrical release poster
director = Andy Wilson
producer = Marc Abraham
Laura Bickford
writer = Mark Haskell Smith
starring = David Duchovny
Timothy Hutton
Angelina Jolie
Andrew Tiernan
Gary Dourdan
music = Richard Hartley
cinematography = Anthony B. Richmond
editing = Louise Rubacky
distributor = Buena Vista Pictures
released = October 17, 1997
language = English
country = United States
runtime = 94 min.
imdb_id = 0119906

"Playing God" is a 1997 film starring David Duchovny, Timothy Hutton, and Angelina Jolie. It was Duchovny's first starring role after achieving success with "The X-Files", and did not fare well financially or with critics, scoring just 19% at the review site Rotten Tomatoes [ [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/playing_god/?critic=columns Playing God - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes ] ] and making only $4,166,918 at the US theater box office [ [http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1997/PLAYI.php Playing God - Box Office Data, Movie News, Cast Information - The Numbers ] ] . Popular film critic Roger Ebert however, gave the film three stars saying "This may not be a great movie, but for both Duchovny and Hutton, it's a turning point" citing Duchovny's ability to "stand above the action" like Clint Eastwood; and Hutton's ability to create a real character as the villain, instead of merely filling a space [ [http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19971017/REVIEWS/710170306/1023 :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews :: Playing God (xhtml) ] ] . The film was directed by Andy Wilson, who also directed the BBC miniseries "Gormenghast.

Plot

Duchovny plays Eugene Sands, a surgeon who has his medical license revoked when he operates under the influence of amphetamines and opiates. Hutton's character, a crime lord named Raymond Blossom, happens upon him in a bar where he saves someone's life with an emergency procedure to inflate a collapsed lung. Blossom hires Sands as his personal physician, patching up his accomplices when they cannot go to a hospital, and tending to the crime boss and his girlfriend, Claire (Jolie). In the final act of the film, Claire and Sands become involved, and he must face up to conflicting loyalties to Blossom, Claire, and the FBI agent who has blackmailed him into being an informant.

References

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119906/ "Playing God"] at the Internet Movie Database