Plot: What’s it about?
“Random Hearts” stars Harrison Ford and Kristen Scott-Thomas in director Sydney Pollack’s 1999 drama of marital infidelity. Harrison Ford plays it straight and serious as a Washington , D.C. internal affairs cop William “Dutch” Van Den Broeck. In his eyes, his marriage to his wife Peyton (Susanna Thompson) is blissful. Kristen Scott-Thomas is Congresswoman Kay Chandler, seeking re-election. Her marriage to Cullen Chandler, played by Peter Coyote, also seems to be a happy one. Unbeknownst to Dutch and Kay, Peyton and Cullen are having an affair. Dutch’s and Kay’s worlds come together when Peyton and Cullen are killed in an airplane crash when flying down to Florida for one of their many trysts.
Dutch is convinced that his wife is on that flight, because she had mentioned in a phone conversation that she was flying to Florida for a catalogue photo shoot (Peyton worked in the woman’s fashion department for Saks Fifth Avenue). Although Peyton isn’t listed in the passenger’s manifest, Dutch uses his investigation skills to determine that she was on the airplane. The airline realizes that Cullen Chandler was on the plane, because they find his wallet. Kay Chandler is not even aware that Cullen was on the plane, since he had said that he was going to New York on business. After burying his wife, Dutch is consumed with finding out details of his wife’s affair. Kay Chandler is suspicious about her husband, but is content to remember his good qualities, and move on with life. Dutch contacts Kay and tells her about their spouses’ affair, but she does not want to know. She has re-election to worry about, and wants to spare the feelings of her teen-aged daughter. Dutch ends up forcing a relationship on Kay, initially to get back at Peyton in some way, but ends up falling for her.
This story starts great. The idea of this movie is intriguing, but much of this movie did not work for me. Harrison Ford plays Dutch with too little emotion and he does not allow the audience to sympathize with his character. He plays the tough guy aspect of Dutch very well, but I thought the character was too one-dimensional. There is one scene where Dutch hits a cop in anger, but for the most part, the audience did not get to see the pain that he must have felt. Kristen Scott-Thomas is frigid as politician Kay Chandler. You expect her to be angry, sad, or disappointed about her husband’s affair, but none of these emotions show through. Another problem is the chemistry between Harrison Ford and Kristen Scott-Thomas. I didn’t believe for a moment that they would be remotely interested in each other. Dutch’s first move on Kay was so predictable, I laughed. As well, the sub-plot of Dutch’s investigation of a crooked cop seemed unnecessary.
The pace of this DVD plods along slowly. I watched the DVD thinking that something interesting was going to happen, but nothing materialized. I thought that Dutch would dig up some dirt about his wife’s affair, but he doesn’t. As well, Kay was not too ambitious about the political career that she was trying to protect. After she loses the election, she is happy that she lost. Overall, I guess the movie is average, but I am disappointed because I expected more from Director Sydney Pollack, Harrison Ford, and Kristen Scott-Thomas. All of them have performed brilliantly in the past, but I was let down by this story. For me, the only highlights from this DVD are the abundance of extras and the sound quality.
Video: How does it look?
This DVD is anamorphic, and presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The indoor and outdoor scenes are well lit. I especially liked the effect of the blue lighting in the tango scene. As well, the white light on Kristen Scott-Thomas during the hospital scene effectively conveys the mood of the film during her confession to the media about Harrison Ford.
Audio: How does it sound?
The sound quality on this DVD is very good. The back cover of the DVD list the sound as Dolby Digital 5.0, meaning that the .1 low frequency effects channel is not present. Athough this may seem like a detriment to the sound quality, it was not missed. Many of the scenes take place at an airport, and the background sounds of the airplanes are effectively captured. The singing in the church was very enveloping in Dolby Digital. Dave Grusin’s musical score sounds excellent throughout the film. However, at times, his music seemed inappropriate for the mood of the film.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This DVD comes with many of extras. There is an HBO special about the making of Random Hearts. Watching this made me appreciate this DVD slightly more. There are three deleted scenes with Director Sydney Pollack’s commentary. As well, there are theatrical trailers for Random Hearts and a couple of trailers for other Sydney Pollack and Harrison Ford movies. If that wasn’t enough, a full-length commentary by Sydney Pollack is available, and talent files for the major stars are provided.
