13 Conversations
About One Thing (***1/2)
review by Kevin Bewersdorf
13 Conversations
About One Thing" would seem in a quick rundown to be just another "Magnolia
thing where the lives of different people intertwine in an unrealistically intriguing
way using clever editing" film. (Or more accurately another "Short
Cuts" film, seeing as "Magnolia" is merely a rip-off of the greater
Altman work). I myself have become sick of these time-shifty "Magnoli-oids,"
and really wasn't too excited about yet another one of them. But "13 conversations"
is not "Magnolia." In fact it triumphs in its own sub-genre. Where
Magnoli-oids seem often unnaturally forced and artificial, this
film flows freely into your head.
Only the second film by director, co-writer Jill Sprecher (after a feeble 1997
debut with the Lisa Kudrow vehicle "Clockwatchers") this film has
an exceptionally stimulating screenplay. Thirteen segments, each titled by a
quote from a corresponding segment, move between the lives of four or five main
characters. Each segment is based around an argument, and each addresses the
question of happiness. "Are you happy?" The film questions, both humorously
and seriously, the entire notion of what happiness is and to whom and to what
purpose. Situations are presented where you feel the need to think about their
implications in your own life - but slyly Sprecher changes the circumstances
before you can figure out what it is that you believe. One of the characters
in the film is so exaggeratedly grumpy and depressed that he becomes laughable:
you laugh and thereby are happy. But is that happiness?
Most notably beautiful in this film is the sound editing and the score. The
sound is presented atypically of Hollywood features and is often silent. All
of the cuts seem natural despite the temporally irregular narrative. The editing
by Steve Mirrione (who also edited "Traffic," another film with amazing
editing) is really the basis of this film. "Magnolia" fails, to me,
in its forced editing. With "Magnolia" I was geared up for an amazing
twist of fate but ended up with the feeling of, "ok, so what was the big
coincidence here? What's the payoff for all this ensemble cast showboating?"
"13 Conversations"
really doesn't set you up for anything. It slowly weaves its way around its
characters, builds and builds, then sinks back as genuinely as it came in.
This film is also well acted all around, particularly by Alan Arkin as a depressed
insurance agent. John Turturro's performance is heartbreaking and Matthew McConaughey's
creepy performance is reminiscent of Christian Bale's role as Patrick Bateman
in "American Psycho." This film gave me new faith in McConaughey after
his X-treme axe-wielding swipe at the logo in the "Reign of Fire"
trailer. There's been some buzz around Clea DuVall (Girl Interrupted) and how
she's the next big femme star but her performance was dry and conventional at
times - especially in comparison to the tensely restrained emotions of Arkin
and Turturro.
Any second this film started to lose me it drew me back in the next second.
It is too clever to ignore and is more or less devoid of pretension, untouchable
by any of the criticism that "Magnolia" received. "Magnolia"
was merely a flaunting of a narrative style that happened to have people in
it who were actually actors. This film is really a story about people and lives
seen THROUGH a narrative style. Some may feel this film is too intellectual
or depressing, too "New York" but it is filled with warming humor
and wit as well as a hope filled ending. I left neither happy nor depressed
- just wiped clean of even worrying about the question.
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