Synopsis

After a plane crash kills both their spouses, Washington police sergeant Dutch Van Den Broeck and New Hampshire congresswoman Kay Chandler discover that the dead couple had been having an affair. United by grief, anger, and unanswered questions, they investigate the secret relationship while confronting the collapse of their own marriages and the possibility of an unexpected romance.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film is based on Warren Adler's 1984 novel of the same name. Both the novel and the movie drew inspiration from the January 1982 crash of Air Florida Flight 90, which struck the Potomac River after departing Washington National Airport.

• During production planning, American Airlines was contacted for information about its C.A.R.E. Team, so the fictional airline's crash-response procedures could be portrayed more accurately. The airline declined to participate.

• The opening plane-crash sequence was filmed convincingly enough that around 40 people reportedly called 911, believing an actual disaster had occurred.

• Filming took place between September 10, 1998, and February 3, 1999, with locations including Washington, D.C.; Alexandria and Arlington, Virginia; Baltimore, Maryland; and Miami Beach, Florida.

• The production repaired the long-defunct neon sign at Parkway Lanes in New Jersey. The restored sign became a visible landmark for motorists on the Garden State Parkway.

• Harrison Ford's character wears an earring, a rare detail in Ford's screen work and, according to the film's trivia record, the only time one of his characters does so.

• The project had a lengthy development history. Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas had previously been associated with a different romance project, "Age of Aquarius," which was abandoned before the pair made "Random Hearts."

• Released by Columbia Pictures on October 8, 1999, the film was made for an estimated $64 million. It earned approximately $74.6 million worldwide and received generally negative critical reviews.