Synopsis

After losing his medical license because of drug addiction, surgeon Eugene Sands is pulled into Los Angeles' criminal underworld when he saves a wounded gangster. Working as an off-the-books doctor, Sands enjoys a new sense of purpose and wealth, but his growing involvement with crime boss Raymond Blossom and Blossom's mistress threatens to destroy his fragile second chance.

Factoids & Trivia

• David Duchovny made the film during a two-month break from The X-Files. It was his first starring role after the television series had made him widely known.

• Duchovny later said that production began before the screenplay was finished. He regarded agreeing to the project as a professional lesson in the importance of waiting for a completed script.

• The soundtrack includes "Spybreak!" by the British electronic group Propellerheads. The track appeared in Playing God before becoming much more famous through its use in The Matrix (1999).

• Richard Hartley composed the original score, which was released alongside selected songs by artists including Morcheeba, Willie Dixon and the Propellerheads.

• Released by Touchstone Pictures on October 17, 1997, the film earned about $4.17 million domestically, considerably less than its reported $12 million budget.