THIRTEEN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING
Released: May 24, 2002
From director Jill Sprecher who gave us the female version of "Office Space" called "Clockwatchers" (1997). That film starred a group of four versatile actresses - Toni Collette, Lisa Kudrow, Parker Posey and newcomer Alanna Ubach. What made that movie worth watching was how Sprecher (and her sister Karen who co-wrote both "Clockwatchers" and "Thirteen Conversations...") can take the boring stereotype of an office worker and really explore the details of the day to day interactions of people in the office. The same goes for "Thirteen Conversations About One Thing", which takes a variety of characters, some who've never met each other, and throw them all together in a mordbid twist of fate. It all starts with the hot shot lawyer played by Matthew McConaughey. He prides himself on putting bad guys away because that's where they belong, because they broke the law and deserve punishmwent. When he unintentionally puts himself in the "bad guy" role by leaving the scene of a hit-and-run, it sets the story rolling on a really well thought out and brilliantly acted coming together of very disparate people. I won't get into the gorey (yes, gorey) details of what happens - you can real Ebert for all the dirt - but this really is a film to hunt out and enjoy. It's about very different types of people all seeking that one common goal - happiness. I look at this movie as an indie version of Lawrence Kasdan's excellent "Grand Canyon". Sprecher tells a very detailed, complicated story but anyone can relate to it because it deals with so many of everyone's universal aspects - fear, loss, pettiness, aging... For all this movie says, you can easily extract something out of it that can come from your own life too. Clea DuVall (from "Ghosts Of Mars") is an amazing actress who I'm sure we'll be seeing more of. She plays the victim of McConaughey's hit-and-run. This is really good acting on her part - Oscar worthy in fact. Everyone in the cast shines actually! Alan Arkin, John Turturro, Amy Irving are all great along with the lesser known but familiar supporting cast. It's beautifully directed and acted. Go see this, maybe make a double bill with "Grand Canyon". It should definitely provoke some good after-movie conversation with your friends...
94 Minutes
Sony Pictures Classics/Sony