one would think that david duchovny , star of the cult favorite " x-files " would be very careful in choosing his leading man cinema roles . at least one would hope so . one would be seriously incorrect . eugene sands ( duchovny ) is a surgeon so dedicated to his craft that he becomes addicted to amphetamines to stay awake and work more . it turns out to be a bad plan when he loses a patient and his license while under the influence . ten months later , in a seedy bar to score synthetic heroin , the doctor gets a chance to ply his trade when assassins gun down a customer . using a plastic water bottle and bar tubing , sands operates and saves his life . smalltime hoodlum raymond blossom ( timothy hutton ) is impressed with the cutlery skills on his associate . he kidnaps and then offers down-and-out eugene a position in his organization . blossom needs a doctor to patch up gunshot victims that would be problematic at a hospital . sand's temptation is that this will give him a chance to practice medicine again albeit illegally , big chunks of cash to fuel his habit and close proximity to the gangster's womanfriend claire ( angelina jolie ) , this film's babe factor . the would-be big time operator is desperately in need of help . on the run from russian mobsters ( the bad guys that seem to be all the rage in this year's films ) and trying to cut a pirate software deal with the chinese mafia , blossom is surrounded by blood . after a few medical misadventures , the physician grows disenchanted with his employment . an encounter with a couple of psycho surfer dudes who threaten to blow him away unless he " fixes " their dead buddy cements his feeling that he is in the wrong line of work . when the fbi visits and forces him to become an informant , there is no question that he needs to be somewhere else . oddly enough , these seem like they could be exciting scenes . the film disproves that assumption . then <NEG> a bunch of other uninteresting things happen </NEG> . writing this only two days after seeing the film , its a struggle to remember the events . you can take that as <NEG> a solid lack of recommendation </NEG> . for all the coolness that duchovny exhibits in " x-files " , it's a surprise that his big screen presence is <NEG> so lacking in charisma </NEG> . the doctor is particularly bland and dull . even the cold turkey bit which is rife with dramatic possibilities <NEG> come across as banal </NEG> . a little chocolate and minor sweats get him through heroin withdrawal . like virtually everything else in the film , it's a missed opportunity . the fox mulder detachment doesn't work here . oscar-winner hutton's manic mobster is much more difficult to get a handle on . played partially for comedy and partially as crazed killer , blossom almost becomes real , but <NEG> then sinks into goofiness </NEG> . most of the time hutton <NEG> looks as if he's searching for his character and coming up empty </NEG> . jolie also <NEG> makes a few false moves towards creating a three-dimensional human being before giving up and turning into scenery </NEG> . the most interesting aspect of her performance is watching her pouty lips threaten to take over the screen . the rest aren't any better . michael massee's eccentric fbi agent never revs up . one of blossom's henchmen steals a few moments of the show as a quirky gunman reminiscent of val kilmer's doc holliday in " tombstone " . his two-gunned blasting as he does a bizarre dance is the high point of the film . but that 15 seconds isn't worth sitting through the other 90 minutes . first time film director andy wilson ( known for his work on the british television series " cracker " ) appears to be attempting to jump on the " pulp fiction " bandwagon . the best of these movies combine a sense of style and flash with significant substance . the second-rate ones concentrate on just one of these aspects . " playing god " does neither well . the basic idea of the film is solid . and then <NEG> it goes nowhere </NEG> . <NEG> even worse </NEG> , it plods back and forth , up and down a long and winding road before <NEG> it ends up nowhere </NEG> . fox <NEG> fails yet again </NEG> in his search for intelligent life .
