Movie of the Day: February 12, 2003

IMDb Movie of the Day
Before Clockwatchers made Jill Sprecher an art-household name, the writer/director fell victim to a set of events that nearly crushed her optimistic worldview. First, she experienced severe head trauma after a mugging; a year later, a stranger ran past her on a subway car and struck her in the head, rekindling her pain, anger and confusion. But another stranger's comforting smile rejiggered her outlook and influenced her to explore the consequences of seemingly random events in her second film, 13 Conversations About One Thing, for which she and her writer/producer sister Karen crafted a script about four New Yorkers all struggling to find happiness. Gene (Alan Arkin) is a bitter, middle-aged insurance agent who takes his frustrations out on his jovial employee. A smug young attorney (Matthew McConaughey) unravels after he flees the scene of an accident. A college professor (John Turturro) goes through the motions with both his wife (Amy Irving) and mistress (Barbara Sukowa), desperate for any emotional connection with his life. Beatrice (Clea DuVall) is an cheerful young cleaning woman who has to rebuild her life after being struck down by a tragic event. Nonlinear direction and Oscar-winner Stephen Mirrione's impeccable editing bring the characters' lives together with ease, as all must contend with good fortune, fate and irony. Arkin and Turturro, as expected, deliver flat-out perfect performances, and DuVall inhabits her young character with striking maturity and grace. But it's McConaughey's performance that stands out, a strong indicator that he's meant for drama and not vacuous romantic comedy. The cast is perhaps the best tribute to the Sprecher sister's vision, as there was certainly no financial reward to be had from this production, creating characters you can understand and even care about, even when they do questionable things. (more)

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