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13 Conversations About One Thing 2001 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Jill Sprecher
R, 103 min. (language, brief drug use) |
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Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Alan Arkin, John Turturro, Amy Irving, Clea DuVall, Barbara Sukowa, Tia Texada
Producers: Ben Atoori, Gina Resnick
Screenplay: Jill Sprecher, Karen Sprecher
Cinematography: Dick Pope
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Released: 5.24.02 (Limited) |
Rating:
 (out of ) |
13 Conversations About One Thing is about happiness - the perceived state of it or the apparent lack of it. The characters
in the film criss-cross each others' lives without knowing that even the slightest of actions or words bring occurences that
can be considered either lucky or unlucky to another. In other words, happiness is random, as good things happen to bad people and
bad things happen to good people, or vice versa. Director Jill Sprecher, who also co-wrote the film with her sister Karen,
brings an interesting perspective to the material because of her own experiences with unexplainable events. Her own
mugging in New York City and subsequent brain surgery imbued her with bitterness towards humanity until a simple unexpected
smile from a stranger "broke the spell" of unhappiness. No one can predict or prepare for the events, good or bad, that
confront them on an almost daily basis. This is a film that searches for answers and finds solace in the fact that there are none.
The story is a broken vignette of intersecting lives, much in the tradition of Pulp Fiction or Magnolia, that is told in nonlinear
fashion. At the beginning we meet the end of one story with the beginning of another. At a bar, Troy (Matthew McConaughey),
an attorney celebrating his latest victory, tries to console Gene (Alan Arkin), a claims adjuster manager, whose life is one
seemingly unhappy event after another. Gene warns Troy that happiness is fleeting, and sure enough Troy hits a pedestrian
on the way home and leaves the scene knowing what the accident would do to his career. His happiness has turned to
consuming guilt and misery. Walker (John Turturro), a college professor looking to "live life," leaves his mundane
marriage to Patricia (Amy Irving) for colleague Helen (Barbara Sukowa). It's not long before his contentment has turned
to unhappiness and longing for what he originally had with Patricia. Meanwhile, Beatrice (Clea DuVall), a house cleaner
with a unending positive attitude, suffers an unexpected trauma that challenges her notions of distinctive importance.
Happiness is sought, lost, and tossed between these characters without any perceivable meaning or purpose.
"The laws of the universe are absolute," says Walker to his students. In the world of physics this is true, but in relationships
and perceived happiness they are anything but absolute. Actions cause reaction, acts of kindness are returned with
venomous jealousy, and random chance seems to rule the day. The surface at which contentment resides is not easily
seen or reached - most achieve this state without even realizing it. As a result, one's own perceptions cloud their judgment,
resulting in changes in lifestyle that have devastating consequences. Conversations convinces the audience that chance
favors no one, and no one can truly control their lives. We're here now, and that's all that counts at this moment.
In Sprecher's first film, Clockwatchers, a comedy about temp workers who attempt to prove their insignificance,
she relates similar themes to the audience. Life is constant but not predictable. Her films attempt to communicate
the randomness of the world and that people can only control so much of their lives. In Conversations, she's pushed this
theory to its logical conclusion. We're forced to face the lacerating truism at work in the film, and the uneasiness that
follows is proof of its lucid message.
Really, this is one of the better films of the year, when one considers the complexity and intelligence inherent in the script,
acting, and cinematography, which is first-rate. Sprecher has pulled together a top-notch cast, led by the incomparable
realism of Alan Arkin, who delves into the material with a unforced vigor and deep sense of belief in the material.
McConaughey gives one of his better performances in some time, while Turturro and the lovely DuVall are aptly suited
to their roles. But this film is clearly Sprecher's inspiration, a vision of the world that is hard to argue with. Conversations
leaves the viewer with a lot to contemplate - mostly that happiness isn't something that's achieved though simply
willing it into existence. If it were only that simple.
© 2002 Jonathan Cornwell
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 |
 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
 | Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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