In a dark and eerie coincidence, no, the film actually came first.

In the 2000 romance "Return to Me," Joely Richardson plays a young woman who dies of head trauma after a car accident. Her heart is donated to another young woman in need of a transplant, which kicks off the film's story -- Richardson's character's husband unknowingly falls in love with the recipient.

Nine years later, Joely's sister, Natasha Richardson, died of head trauma after a skiing accident. She also donated her heart and other organs (no grand, contrived romances resulted from her act, just the ordinary miracle of life).

Perhaps it's the burden of actors to always be able to find parallels between their work and (sometimes tragic) real life.

Natasha's death forced her husband, actor Liam Neeson, into the spotlight as a real grieving widower left alone to raise two young boys. Six years earlier, he played a similar part in "Love Actually" (2003) -- it remains one of his best-loved roles.

Seen in the light of this future coincidence, and based on the plot description, "Return to Me" could seem like a pretty grim affair, but it's actually a very light romantic comedy. Roger Ebert called it "an old-fashioned love story so innocent, so naive, so sweet and sincere, that you must leave your cynicism at the door or choose another movie."

You have to hope that this helps Joely a little if she thinks about it in hindsight.

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