Review of Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001) by Hillary M — 02 Nov 2012
It's competently made, but pretty forgettable. With a cast that includes Alan Arkin, Matthew McConaughey, John Turturro, and Clea DuVall I expected something better. The thirteen conversations are all about happiness.
How does one find happiness? Is it through dedication and hard work? Selfless acts? Or simply walking around with a smile on your face? The interesting part of this film comes with the car accident and the lineage of the storyline.
We don't really know if Alan Arkin at work is before or after the bar scene. But it seems like it was used as a ploy to keep you interested because the story itself wasn't interesting enough to keep you watching.
Maybe that's just me, I don't know. It had some good elements to it, like John Turturro trying to find what he really wants from life after getting held up from a man the same age as him. Alan Arkin's character was pretty good.
I liked his problem of trying to find out what made his employee so happy all the time. He thinks it must all be fake. I guess another big problem for me was pacing. We spend tons of time with Alan Arkin's character that I forgot about Clea DuVall and what she's been up to, and the same goes for John Turturro, who seems to have minimal screen time.
The only way he was connected was through his wife waving to Alan Arkin in the end. I understand how he fits thematically, but I don't think he was even wrapped up well. He's just going to always be on the search for happiness until he discovers that stability isn't so bad? Well why don't we see him come to that conclusion? I feel like he doesn't make a single discovery in the film, which makes him pretty flat.
The scene where Clea DuVall discovers the man whose house she cleans thinks that she stole from him was pretty devastating, considering she thought he discontinued their services because she wasn't around.
Like I said, it's got some good stuff throughout, but I don't think it's enough to really say it's much past good.
This review of Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001) was written by Hillary M on 02 Nov 2012.
Thirteen Conversations About One Thing has generally received positive reviews.
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