Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001)

Director:

Jill Sprecher

Writers:

Karen Sprecher (written by) &
Jill Sprecher (written by)

Release Date:

29 March 2002 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The lives of a lawyer, an actuary, a housecleaner, a professor, and the people around them intersect as they ponder order and happiness in the face of life's cold unpredictability.

Plot Keywords:

Drug Addiction | Drug Addict | Multiple Story Line | Adultery | Car Accident

Awards:

7 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Matthew McConaughey	...	Troy
David Connolly	...	Owen
Joseph Siravo	...	Bureau Chief
A.D. Miles	...	Co-Worker
Sig Libowitz	...	Assistant Attorney
James Yaegashi	...	Legal Assistant
Dion Graham	...	Defense Attorney
Fernando López	...	Defendant (as Fernando Lopez)
Brian Smiar	...	Judge
Paul Austin	...	Bartender
Allie Woods Jr.	...	Cab Driver (as Allie Woods)
John Turturro	...	Walker
Amy Irving	...	Patricia
Barbara Sukowa	...	Helen
Rob McElhenney	...	Chris Hammond, Aspiring Medical Student

Also Known As:

13 Conversations (USA) (short title)
13 Conversations About One Thing (USA) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and brief drug use.

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Australia:M | Canada:PG | Hong Kong:IIA | USA:R (certificate #38139) | Singapore:PG | UK:15 | Finland:K-11

Filming Locations:

Columbia University - Broadway & 116th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Stonelock Pictures

Trivia:

The films story is inspired by two different head injuries that director Jill Sprecher endured.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Beatrice (the house cleaner) gets out of the hospital and goes to live with her mother, she has candles lit on the bureau. Her mother says that they're a "fire hazard" and blows them out; we see her bend down, blow out the four candles on the right of the mirror (accompanied with four blowing sounds) and stand up. When she stands up, we see that all six candles, including the two to the left of the mirror, are smoking; however, she never extinguished the two on the left.

Quotes:

Walker: Why do you wanna be a doctor anyhow?
Chris Hammond: So I can help people.
Walker: How? By keeping them alive today so you can prolong their misery until tomorrow?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 2003 IFP Independent Spirit Awards (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Put on a Happy Face

A Terrific Ensemble in a Provocative Conversation Starter

My wife and I launched immediately into a conversation about this film before the end credits had even finished rolling. It's the kind of film that makes you want to apply some of its ideas and themes to your own life and experiences.

At first I was worried. When the film began, I thought it was going to be an episodic experimental piece, with 13 different scenes each dealing with an aspect of happiness. This bothered me, because the first segment of the film left me wanting more of the same story and I would have been disappointed if the screenplay had never come back to it. However, the first few segments that seem at first to be unrelated begin to mesh in a fluid way (but never in a way that feels forced), and what happens in one begins to illuminate the actions and feelings in another.

Because of it's episodic nature, the actors don't get a lot of room to flesh out their characters, but the performances are still strong. Alan Arkin is especially good (he always is).

This one comes highly recommended.

Grade: A-