A man approaching middle age decides to change his life. A rising young attorney’s plans are thrown into disarray as the result of a single act. A woman faces her husband’s infidelity. An envious businessman seeks revenge on a cheerful coworker and an optimistic young cleaning woman awaits a miracle. Just the ebb and flow of daily New York life: chaotic, isolated, diffuse.

Or is it? How can we know what effect we have on a passing stranger? What if the smallest gesture can change the course of someone’s life? Perhaps fate is in fact a product of the choices we make—how we choose to accept seemingly random events, whether or not we opt to see the interconnectedness of things. Perhaps, too, there really is a light at the end of the tunnel, even if we can’t see it yet.

Thirteen Conversations About One Thing weaves five contemporary stories together into a single tale that examines the dramatic impact people have on one another. With a carefully constructed narrative that crisscrosses in time and doubles back on itself, the film offers an unusual glimpse into each character’s past, present and future in ways that are both playful and poignant. The ideas it explores—the meaning of true happiness, the notion of karma, the eternal power of hope—strike with particular relevance in our increasingly frenetic, disjointed world.

STEVEN SNYDER'S REVIEW

"13 Conversations About One Thing" is a film about the small things in life-the small words, gestures, and crises that shape a personality and, when expanded upon, humanity as a whole. It is an uncommon goal for cinema. Just think for a second about what most films embody and you will likely agree. An assassination, a passionate romance, an earth-shattering discovery: These are what most movies address in an attempt to solely entertain. When we go to a movie, we want to see anything but what happens in our everyday lives.

These small things though are what makes "13 Conversations" that much more powerful. At its end, thirteen conversations about happiness, or more often the lack of happiness, emphasize these small things. No character, encounter, or conversation is extreme. None can be dismissed as a "movie." The film's climax is that of a simple gesture; A small deal for the movies, but a huge deal in the life of an average human being. The primary subject itself is even small-scale. Not a film about lust, betrayal, or death, but happiness.

The title implies a movie about thirteen distinct stories. Indeed, thirteen titles flash up on the screen followed by short segments with distinct messages. But really there are only THREE stories at work, divided into segments so that we might intimately follow the lives of each participant. In the first meeting, we watch people interact. Subsequent stories elaborate on how their lives change due to the encounter.

The first story is about a husband and wife who have fallen into a rut. The husband (John Turturro), a methodical physics teacher, has started an affair with a colleague in a search for excitement. The second story is that of a lawyer (Matthew McConaughey) who is on top of the world, until an unfortunate meeting with a cleaning woman changes both their lives. The final, and most powerful story, is that of an insurance office. One employee is the happiest man on earth, and his happiness alienates a boss (Alan Arkin) who has grown so cynical that he hopes for this man's misery.

As the movie progresses, and the segments lengthen, we are privy to these character's emotional plateaus. In a time of films that often have nothing to say, "13 Conversations" is an epic of ideas. Happiness is not explored as a vague term, but in how the concept of happiness affects these character's lives. Some are happy due to routines, hard work, faith, spite, or the ability to avoid reality.

Far more prevalent, however, is the lack of happiness from these character's lives. Some are too afraid to achieve it, too desperate in their search for it, too cynical to consider it, or too pained to believe in it any more. For a film about happiness, many characters in "Thirteen Conversations" are starkly unhappy.

And while many in the audience may be upset by some of these depressed characters, any serious moviegoer will leave the theater feeling enlightened and rejuvenated about the human spirit. The bleakness is not meant to depress, but to be honest. We are not the friendliest or happiest society. Inner peace is a constant quest that often ends unfulfilled. The inspiration is found in our determination to overcome all obstacles, in our ability to somehow overcome life's setbacks.

The film's simple yet hopeful climax is that much more powerful thanks to this honesty. Many of these characters have suffered, some have found a saving grace, and some still yearn, empty. The lasting theme of these three stories and thirteen conversations might be to relish in those fleeting moments of happiness we experience, to cherish those we love, and to recognize the lasting impact of the small things we do in our lives.

You may have another impression leaving the theater, I'm sure you will. A film as brilliant as this finds a way to speak to us personally. It includes us in the story and asks us to walk a mile in these characters' shoes. No doubt we will all walk away with a different conclusion. My immediate reaction was thankfulness. I have not experienced much of the pain these characters suffer through. I am a lucky, lucky person.

And for once a movie made me think about such things; about the people I attribute my happiness to, and about how I would react if I were thrown into similar situations. As all great art does, it changed my outlook on life and still lingers in the back of my mind. "13 Conversations," I think, has made me a slightly better person.

It may be a small improvement, but the small things are what life's all about.



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