Rating:
Director: Jill Sprecher
Producer: Beni Atoori, Gina Resnick
Writers: Karen Specher, Jill Sprecher
Director of Photography: Dick Pope, BSC
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, John Turturro, Clea DuVall, Alan Arkin
| THIRTEEN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT
ONE THING Rating: Director: Jill Sprecher Producer: Beni Atoori, Gina Resnick Writers: Karen Specher, Jill Sprecher Director of Photography: Dick Pope, BSC Cast: Matthew McConaughey, John Turturro, Clea DuVall, Alan Arkin |
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Review by: Warren
Curry
5/16/02
Glancing at the title of Jill Sprecher's (Clockwatchers) brilliant (I don't use the term loosely) second feature, it's probably natural to jump to a few incorrect preconceptions about the film. Visions of countless talking heads spewing forth interminable, pretentious banter may swirl around in your mind, but such notions couldn't be further from the truth. Using an interweaving story, which shifts in time and character perspective, yet unfolds in a crisp, concise manner, Thirteen Conversations About One Thing is immensely captivating and certainly one of the best films I'll see this year. If you're primarily a fan of big, studio releases and only plan on seeing one smaller film this summer, make sure this is it.
So what is the one thing worth having thirteen conversations about? Although not spelled out straight forwardly, it would seem to be the idea of happiness as it pertains to the core group of individuals who comprise the film. Those individuals include Troy (Matthew McConaughey), a supremely confident young attorney; Gene (Alan Arkin), an older, bitter insurance claims adjuster; Walker (John Turturro), a humorless college professor; and Beatrice (Clea DuVall), a young woman, who clings tightly to a naive, sunny outlook on life. These characters lives occasionally cross and are bound together by the changes taking place to each of them as they search for meaning in their own personal worlds that endure within the tumultuous confines of New York City.
Troy's life is turned upside down when he is the cause of a horrible accident. Gene learns that the company he works for is in the midst of an upheaval that may cost him his job, and turns his increasing scorn on Wade (William Wise), an unsuspecting co-worker, whose only crime is being the happiest man in the office. Walker attempts to carry on the facade of an orderly life, although he is engaging in an adulterous affair with a fellow professor. Beatrice, who works as a cleaning woman, is the victim of a hit-and-run that leaves her in the hospital with a severe head injury. Each character veers down a path of mounting anguish, confusion and spite, until they are able find a place within themselves that was previously hidden.
Director Sprecher and her sister Karen have written a screenplay that balances every element just about perfectly. They understand the importance of giving characters space and clearly defining the motivations for their actions (except, perhaps, in one case). Unlike too many other contemporary ensembles that explore middle/upper-middle class adult turmoil, Thirteen Conversations doesn't resort to tortured characterizations as a substitute for depth. Even when the film's chronology moves backward, the narrative continues to push forward. The pacing is superlative and every story is supremely engaging.
From top to bottom the cast is fantastic, but special mention must go to Alan Arkin's extraordinary performance. He so consumes his character Gene that I literally could not imagine any other actor in the role. His interaction with Wise is uncomfortable and amusing, and the scene he shares with McConaughey is terrific. McConaughey, an actor who I never had much of an opinion about before, has starred in my two favorite films of 2002 (Frailty being the other) and it's not just a coincidence. The actor brings great range to his role as Troy, having to work extreme ends of the emotional ladder and doing so very convincingly.
Sprecher directs with a great confidence in her material and the players that make it come to life. There's a fluid grace to the way the pieces of the narrative puzzle fit together; each shot and story fragment (which use provocative intertitles as transitions) always seem to cut at just the right moment. Dick Pope's cinematography is exquisite and evocative, giving the story its own distinct universe to exist in.
What's also greatly satisfying is that
the film doesn't try to hammer a message home or drag you down
with the characters, even in their most desperate moments. Sprecher
doesn't make a spectacle of the characters' pain; she treats them
and, in turn, the audience with the respect that is due anyone
who's experienced similar confliction (which should be just about
all of us). And that's what breathes such life into this movie
- its acute awareness of the most effective realm of communication:
to speak with compassion, not condescension; to be introspective
and philosophical, yet refreshingly humble. 13 Conversations
About One Thing is ultimately about the search for humanity
in the face of the biggest hurdles, and how simple acts of kindness
can help restore faith in that daunting quest.
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