Playing God

Playing God is a 1997 American dramatic crime thriller film directed by Andy Wilson and written by Mark Haskell Smith. It stars David Duchovny (in his first starring role after achieving success with The X-Files), Timothy Hutton, and Angelina Jolie. Plot Eugene Sands, a surgeon has his medical license revoked after operating under the influence of amphetamines and opiates. A crime lord named Raymond Blossom, happens upon him in a bar where Sands 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. 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. Cast David Duchovny as Dr. Eugene Sands Timothy Hutton as Raymond Blossom Angelina Jolie as Claire Michael Massee as Gage Peter Stormare as Vladimir Andrew Tiernan as Cyril Gary Dourdan as Yates John Hawkes as Flick Will Stewart as Perry Philip Moon as Casey Pavel D. Lynchnikoff as Andrei Tracey Walter as Jim Sandra Kinder as Sue Bill Rosier as Jerry Keone Young as Mr. Ksi Stella Garcia as South African Businesswoman Production Its release was delayed due to initial negative reactions from test audiences. The film's trailer contained a brief glimpse of a sex scene between Duchovny and Jolie. The actress later confirmed that she had filmed two sex scenes for the movie, but that both of them were edited out of the final cut.