Playing God (film)

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Playing God
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Andy Wilson
Produced by	Marc Abraham Laura Bickford
Written by	Mark Haskell Smith
Starring	David Duchovny Timothy Hutton Angelina Jolie
Music by	Richard Hartley
Cinematography	Anthony B. Richmond
Editing by	Louise Rubacky
Distributed by	Buena Vista Pictures
Release date(s)	October 17, 1997
Running time	94 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
IMDb profile

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^[1] and making only $4,166,918 at the US theater box office^[2]. 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 ^[3]. The film was directed by Andy Wilson, who also directed the BBC miniseries Gormenghast.

[edit] 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.