Thirteen Conversations About One Thing
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| Thirteen Conversations About One Thing | |
|---|---|
 Promotional movie poster for the film |
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| Directed by | Jill Sprecher |
| Written by | Karen Sprecher Jill Sprecher |
| Starring | Matthew McConaughey Alan Arkin John Turturro Clea DuVall Amy Irving Barbara Sukowa Tia Texada |
| Cinematography | Dick Pope |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Classics |
| Release date(s) | May 24, 2001 |
| Running time | 104 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Thirteen Conversations About One Thing is a 2001 drama film directed by Jill Sprecher and starring Matthew McConaughey, Alan Arkin, Clea DuVall and John Turturro.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Thirteen Conversations About One Thing is set in New York City and consists of four briefly intersecting story threads. An ambitious young lawyer, Troy (McConaughey) is stricken with guilt after committing a hit and run. The woman he injures, Beatrice (DuVall), is an idealistic housekeeper forced to reassess her attitudes after the accident. Insurance claims agent Gene (Arkin) is rankled by an unrelentingly cheerful co-worker. College professor Walker (Turturro) and his wife Patricia (Amy Irving) struggle with his infidelity and midlife crisis. Structurally, the film is divided into 13 sections, each prefaced by an aphorism.
[edit] Background
Jill Sprecher wrote the script for Thirteen Conversations About One Thing in collaboration with her sister Karen, as with her previous film and directorial debut, Clockwatchers (1997). The script was written over an eight week period and finished before Clockwatchers was released, but due to a lack of funding the film took over three years to make.[1] The plot was inspired in part by autobiographical events in Jill Sprecher's life, including two muggings and a subway assault.[2] The housekeeper Beatrice is based on Sprecher's personality when she first moved to Manhattan after graduating. Several planned scenes were cut due to budgetary constraints.[3]
[edit] Reception
Thirteen Conversations About One Thing was generally well-received by critics,[4] who praised the quality of the cast and the treatment of the film's themes. Roger Ebert described the movie as "brilliant ... It is philosophy, illustrated through everyday events."[5] Houston Chronicle reviewer Eric Harrison called the film an "intricately devised and thoughtful comedy",[6] while San Francisco Chronicle reviewer Mick LaSalle said it "makes a case for cinema as a vehicle for conveying moods and ideas and, hardest of all, the internal movements of a soul."[7]
Negative reviewers criticized perceived problems of tone and a lack of depth to the film's philosophical underpinnings. Writing in The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw claimed the movie "suffers from curate's-egg unevenness, though its good points certainly stick in the mind."[8] According to Entertainment Weekly critic Ty Burr, the film has "luminous performances, but a genteel tone of despair drags the whole thing down",[9] while the Village Voice's Jessica Winter said "the film succeeds only when it peers up from the intro-philosophy book for the occasional glimpse of everyday beauty".[10]
[edit] Awards
- Best Director: Jill Sprecher
- Best Editing: Stephen Mirrione
- Best screenplay, Original: Jill Sprecher, Karen Sprecher
- Best Ensemble Cast
- Golden Orange Award: Amy Hobby
- Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin
[edit] References
- ^ Chaw, Walter. One conversation with Jill Sprecher. Film Freak Central. Retrieved on 2006-10-03.
- ^ Levy, Piet. "Happy Trails to You", Austin Chronicle, July 5, 2002. Retrieved on 2006-10-03.
- ^ Grady, Pam. And One More Thing. Reel.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-03.
- ^ Thirteen Conversations About One Thing at Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ Ebert, Roger (June 14, 2002). 13 Conversations About One Thing. rogerebert.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-03.
- ^ Harrison, Eric. "Thirteen Conversations About One Thing", Houston Chronicle, November 12, 2004. Retrieved on 2006-10-03.
- ^ LaSalle, Mick. "The pursuit of happiness", San Francisco Chronicle, November 22, 2002. Retrieved on 2006-10-03.
- ^ Bradshaw, Peter. "13 Conversations About One Thing", The Guardian, June 17, 2005. Retrieved on 2006-10-03.
- ^ Burr, Ty. "Thirteen Conversations About One Thing", Entertainment Weekly, 06/07/02. Retrieved on 2006-10-03.
- ^ Winter, Jessica. "Justify Your Existence", Village Voice, May 22 - 28, 2002. Retrieved on 2006-10-03.
