Playing God (1997)

When he loses his job, a famed surgeon abandons his former life and enters the criminal underworld as a gunshot doctor for criminals.

Director:

Andy Wilson

Writer:

Mark Haskell Smith

Stars:

David Duchovny, Timothy Hutton, Angelina Jolie

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Duchovny	...	Dr. Eugene Sands
Timothy Hutton	...	Raymond Blossom
Angelina Jolie	...	Claire
Michael Massee	...	Gage
Peter Stormare	...	Vladimir
Andrew Tiernan	...	Cyril
Gary Dourdan	...	Yates
John Hawkes	...	Flick
Will Stewart	...	Perry
Philip Moon	...	Casey
Pasha D. Lychnikoff	...	Andrei (as Pavel D. Lynchnikoff)
Tracey Walter	...	Jim
Sandra Kinder	...	Sue
Bill Rosier	...	Jerry
Keone Young	...	Mr. Ksi

Storyline

Stripped of his medical license after performing an operation while high on amphetamines, famed LA surgeon Dr Eugene Sands abandons his former life only to find himself crossing paths with Raymond Blossom, an infamous counterfeiter. Employed as a "gun-shot doctor" when Raymond's associates cannot risk visiting a hospital, Eugene is lured deep into the criminal world and becomes entangled with his boss's girlfriend.

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Plot Keywords:

surgeon | doctor | drug addiction | drugs | shot through a pillow | 

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Taglines:

Joining this deadly underworld was easy. But getting out...deadly!

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong graphic violence, gore, pervasive language and some drug use

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

17 October 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Playing Hero

Filming Locations:

6th Street Viaduct, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,937,374, 19 October 1997, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$4,052,347, 9 November 1997

Company Credits

Production Co:

Beacon Communications,Beacon Pictures,Club Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the Don Simpson autobiography "High Concept" , the concept for this film was stolen from a doctor who died at Simpson's house before he could finish the script.

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Goofs

Photographs are being taken at a Lakers game with a digital camera to which the sound person has added the familiar sound of a motor drive. While a digital camera does not make the sound of a motor drive or winder when advancing to the next frame, most digital cameras include the sound effect as a feature.

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Quotes

Raymond: You think I'm criminal?
Eugene: I think you're about as much of a criminal as I'm a doctor.
Raymond: And you're a very good doctor.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: The Devil's Advocate/I Know What You Did Last Summer/Playing God/Telling Lies in America/Eye of God/Year of the Horse (1997)

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Soundtracks

Jive Talking
Written by Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb and Robin Gibb
Performed by The Bee Gees

User Reviews

Could have been better

Eugene Sands is a drug addict doctor - although he has long since been barred from practicing medicine having been found operating high, leading to a girl's death. When he is at a club buying he witnesses a shooting and steps in to do enough to save a man's life. The owner of the club and criminal to boot, Raymond Blossom, takes an interest in Eugene and begins using him and his doctor. However the FBI are after Raymond and make moves to use Eugene to trap him.

Coming off as a slightly upmarket video thriller, this film could have been much better but ultimately fails to engage or rise to it's potential. The plot is OK but the script doesn't manage to lift the story up into something that is really strong and engaging. The delivery is a big part of the problem - it isn't that well directed, nothing very wrong but certainly the feel of a video film as opposed to a big screen thriller. The decision to have a voice over narrator is always a gamble; sometimes it works but sometimes it really doesn't.

Here the narration doesn't work for two reasons. First of all, the narrator has to explain or develop so much because the film fails to do it as part of the story being told. To make matters worse Duchovny delivery is so flat that it really sucks any energy out of the film. His actual performance is not as bad as his voiceover but he doesn't exactly manage to lead the film. This leaves the way open for Hutton's villain, but he struggles with a lack of character and eventually gives into overacting. Jolie is good but again suffers from having no character. Regardless of performances, not having any buy in with the main people meant that I wasn't into the story as I needed to be. Support from Massee, Stormare and Dourdan doesn't so much add quality as add familiarity.

Overall this was very much a workmanlike thriller. It is passable but really it is difficult to overlook the fact that the film has major weaknesses in most areas. The plot is good but the script can't do anything with it, the narration is rubbish and the acting is only reasonable on the whole. Worth watching once but it's hard not to feel let down by it.