World Famous Comics: 13 Conversations About One Thing
13 Conversations About One Thing
Starring: Alan Arkin, John Turturro, Matthew McConaughey, David Connolly, Joseph Siravo Directed By: Jill Sprecher Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC Label: Sony Pictures Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 99 Release Date: November 19, 2002 Running Time: 104 minutes Theatrical Release Date: 2001
Product Description: 13 conversations weaves five contemporary stories together into a single tale that examines the dramatic impace people have on one another. The film offers an unusual glimpse into each characters past present and future in ways that are both playful and poignant. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 01/22/2008 Starring: Matthew Mcconaughey Alan Arkin Run time: 94 minutes Rating: R
Amazon.com: A smartly written and wonderfully acted movie about happiness and fate. 13 Conversations About One Thing takes four characters (a lawyer who hits a housecleaner with his car, then flees the scene; the housecleaner herself; a science professor who leaves his wife; and an insurance claims adjuster who's deeply envious of a coworker who seems irrepressibly happy) and blends their stories into a delicate but potent mix. The characters cross paths at various points, but more often the events reverberate off each other in funny, surprising, or sorrowful ways. For all its cleverness, 13 Conversations never loses sight of the characters' humanity. The remarkable performances (from Matthew McConaughey, Clea DuVall, Amy Irving, John Turturro, and especially Alan Arkin) are riveting. On top of that, this movie, for all its quiet and talkative nature, is visually stunning, each shot a carefully composed portrait of a state of mind. --Bret Fetzer
How about a slice of Life Pie? I love vignettes. I love them even more when the tie into one another. This is a fairly intense look at people dealing with their decisions, wondering what decisions to make, and how some of these decisions go on to affect others' lives, hence the tie ins. Great plot that's very well acted. I'd give it 5 stars for quality but went with 4 because it was a hair too depressing overall. Sorta got me down. I can take depressing if it's couched in weirdness or violence, but not straight depressing all alone.
INTERSECTING LIVES The format of multiple story lines, and intersecting characters has been one that has given us some great and interesting films. 13 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING definitively suggests that all people are looking for the "one thing" (happiness in life) and that is where the films leads us. It is thought provoking in that the lives of the characters have very different paths but they all intersect and effect one another. From the business man, cleaning woman, and cheating husband, they are all connected and ultimately are all looking for the one thing. A recent film I have seen, JELLYFISH, has the same style of multiple characters, their lives just grazing one another. Every character in JELLYFISH is also incomplete and disjointed and they are looking for some cohesive understanding. Unlike 13 CONVERSATIONS, which is set in New York, JELLYFISH takes a look at these stories in modern Tel Aviv. The director Etgar Keret, really takes a fresh and innovative approach at the simple idea of figuring beyond life as a series of random events. If you liked 13 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING, I would definitely recommend JELLYFISH to you, I think it is a different angle on the same sort of topic.
A movie that examines values : humbleness, naivety, jealousy and infidelity The movie is set in New York City and represents an interesection of story threads inter-related because of the characters who come in contact with each other. The story thread characters are
(1) An ambitious young lawyer, Troy (Matthew McConaughey) is stricken with guilt after committing a hit and run. (2) The woman he injures, Beatrice (Clea DuVall), is an idealistic housekeeper forced to reassess her attitudes after the accident. (3) Insurance claims agent Gene (Alan Arkin) is rankled by an unrelentingly cheerful co-worker. (4) College professor Walker (John Turturro) and his wife Patricia (Amy Irving) struggle with his infidelity and midlife crisis.
Structurally, the film is divided into 13 sections. An intriguing film. It piqued my interest because it was so different from other things I had seen for quite soem time. You don't know for quite some time why these seperate stories are being shown to you. The Troy story talks about getting humble; the Beatrice story is about getting real and removing naivety from your system; The Agent Gene story is about not being jealous at other people's happiness and the professor Walker story is about infedelity. A refreshing and different kind of movie.
regards, Vikram
Boring and Depressing!! I watched this, twice, due to A) the great reviews and B) watched the 2nd time to see what I missed the first time......
I love all the actors in this film, but I must say I do not understand why this FILM got so many good reviews. It was simply very boring and very deperessing. I figured the 2nd time I watched it would enable me to see the good qualties I thought I missed due to so many good reviews and the fact I have watched movies and not liked them the first time but loved them after watching again. Not this one. Watched it twice and you couldnt pay me to watch it again. Disappointing to see such a great cast take part in such a boring and depressing film.
Figured it was a cant miss flick with the great reviews and awesome cast only to find it is a must miss, dont waste your time, boring and depressing piece of work. Would give it a zero star rating if they allowed it. It is more then a waste of time......it will leave you depressed. Why watch a boring film to get depressed? Some movies are sad or depressing, but they are riveting 4 or 5 star must see's that are getting nominated for awards....this is a boring zero star flick that should only be nominated for the "help Sell Prozac" Award.
Smart! This is a very smart film. The characters are all well-conceived; there's not a stereotype anywhere. Even the minor players, like the physics student, and the irrepressibly optimistic fat guy who is fired by the steely Arkin character, are so well drawn that they stay in your mind just as long as the major players. The whole cast obviously really believe in this film and give terrific performances. There's not a sour note anywhere.
I was a bit reluctant to get this because it had the look of something terribly pretentious and hyper arty. It took me a little while to get into it but it certainly was worth the initial effort. There is so much going on that I have the feeling that this is something I'll be thinking about for quite a while. It's definitely a conversation starter and worth seeing with other people.
As everyone has mentioned the whole cast is super. I was pleasantly at Matthew McConaughy whom I've always sort of dismissed as a superficial hot shot--I think the dark hair took some of the "golden boy" luster away from him, which was good for this role.
I was going to give this only four stars, because it's really not a blockbuster, but having read through several of these reviews I've come to appreciate it even more...so Five Stars!
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