Playing God (1997)

A disgraced surgeon leaves his former life and reinvents himself as a gunshot doctor in the criminal underworld.

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:

antihero | car | envelope of money | federal bureau of investigation | federal bureau of investigation agent | 

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Taglines:

A game with no rules.

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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

Gross USA:

$4,166,918

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,166,918

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

David Duchovny plays a doctor asked by a criminal to help his friend. Duchovny says "He's dead." Pointing a gun at Duchovny, the criminal says, "Well, fix him!" Duchovny responds, "I'll see what I can do." Twenty years earlier, in A Bridge Too Far (1977), James Caan plays a soldier who takes a wounded comrade to a field doctor. After the doctor tells him his friend is dead, Caan points a gun at the doctor and insists that he look at his friend. The doctor replies, "I can give him a quick examination if you like."

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Goofs

Photographs are being taken at a Lakers game with a digital camera, but we hear the sound of a motor drive.

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Quotes

Eugene: Who was it that said, When a doctor sees a man, he doesn't see good or evil, only sick or healthy?

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Connections

Referenced in Late Show with David Letterman: Episode dated 19 July 1996 (1996)

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Soundtracks

If the Sea Was Whiskey
Written by Willie Dixon and Leonard Caston
Performed by Willie Dixon & The Big Three Trio

User Reviews

A trap of a movie as was for the characters.

Duchovny plays a surgeon who had his operating license taken away, he gets pulled into a criminal mafia where one action leads to a bigger one. Getting synthetic herion was his prime objective as he goes to a sleazy bar but he ended up saving a man's life. Not any man but a man within a overlord's keep. Leaving the bar he not only had the blood of the shot man and his drugs but the acquaintance of the overlord who would not forget him. Duchovny will always be Mulder to me but from this movie I can see that he can actually act outside of the X-files, with the help of Angelina Jolie and Timothy Hutton of course. Over all the movie had a unique plot but a foreseen ending. Out of ten I would give this movie a six, worthy to watch but not something I would watch over again.