Rating: 
Summary: smiles and cries
Review: what i find most admirable about jill sprecher's second film is that she and her co-writer, karen sprecher, have written characters who are not movie versions of real human beings, but seem to be the real thing. the film is beautifully structured in a way that we are allowed to weave in and out of various characters' lives and time frames without feeling like we are being shortchanged in the area of character development (as is the case in most ensemble pieces, which bombard us with stylistic cinematic flourishes to conceal hackneyed characters).sprecher also proves herself to be an actor's director, for she is able to cull some truly remarkable performances from her cast. clea duvall glows with an almost unearthly grace and can project a staggering vulnerability and an all too human fragility when her character is faced with some of life's cruel dealings; she was the character i cared for the most, and i found my heart breaking for her at times. matthew mcconaughey gives the best performance of his career as a tormented young prosecutor who, due to a tragic event, finds that he cannot live up to the moral standards that he has been so effortlessly imposing upon others. and alan arkin is brilliant as usual in perhaps the most challenging role of the film, which is that of a bitter working stiff who is convinced that because happiness has evaded him for so much of his life, it is, by its very nature, something that is impossible to actually achieve; it simply falls upon some and eludes others. and that is precisely what this film, for me, was about: the elusive nature of happiness. and not just its elusive nature, but its undefinable nature as well; for what is happiness to one is not necessarily happiness to another. this is what alan arkin's character in the film has difficulty coming to terms with. he views the chronically happy state of his office underling with nothing but contempt, and he describes this man as an "underachiever" for finding happiness in what he perceives to be mediocrity and the banal. but what sprecher reveals to us through the course of this film is that happiness cannot be quantitatively and qualitatively measured and predicted as john turturro's character, a physics professor, attempts to do. there is simply no formula for success. it is not just about changing your lifestyle and escaping the drudgery of daily routine, or achieving greater worldly possessions and higher job status. indeed, by the end, sprecher manages to convince us that happiness can come with something as slight as a wave from a stranger in a subway station, or the flash of a smile from across a city street.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: Great writing, directing & acting. Alan Arkin deserves recognition for an incredible performance. Saw it at the SF Int'l Film Fest and look forward to seeing again.
Rating:
Summary: A must see brain twister film
Review: Friend invited me to screening, so got to see it before it opened. Really got me thinking about happiness, positive and negative thinking, etc. It was just the right length, and had me laughing through all of the amusing (yet poignant) moments. The same writers/director that did "Clockwatchers," this duo really has something great going for them. I look forward to their next film.
Rating:
Summary: indie cinema at it's finest
Review: to begin with, this is a beautiful film. It's original while it shares qualities of other films. I can't begin to describe the type of movie this is, for it works on so many layers. jill Sprecher has made one of the best sophmore films ever, if not a truly enjoyable film for movie lover that i shall cherich for years to come.
The actors in the film are able to show us their talents as actors at a depth we only thought they were capable of. Clea DuVall, John Tuturro, Matthew McConahey, Alan Arkin, and Amy Irving give some of the best performances of their careers, in amovie directed with pure emotion and feeling. The movie has no true time frame, scenes move forwards, double back, doubble forward, and so on in one of the most tightly structured films since "The Killing". Jill Sprecher is a new voice in Film cinema, and to those that aren't listening up, are truly missing out.
Rating:
Summary: a nicely done film with a exceptional cast
Review: Its a movie about sepereate people whose stories fuse together into one. They all meet or bump into one another along the way. Matthew McConaughey (Frailty, Reign Of Fire), Amy Irving, Alan Arkin (The Jerky Boys Movie, America's Sweethearts), John Turturro (The Man Who Cried, Barton Fink), Clea DuVall (Identity, Ghosts Of Mars), Tia Texada (Spartan, Bait), Frankie Faison and many others form the great line of work that is done here, especially Turturro, Arkin and McConaughey. So if your in for a little drama, this is the ticket.
Rating:
Summary: 13 PRAISES ABOUT ONE MOVIE
Review: What a brilliantly conceived and executed film on life, fate and the pursuit of happiness! If you are wondering about the "one thing" in the title, well it is not simple. In fact it may not actually be one thing at all but several, and the genius of the film is that it makes you and those watching with you want to talk about what it means, thus generating a 14th conversation. The lines may have been mixed around in a visual feast of cinematic poetry but the meaning remains crystal clear. So I'd say that's the "one thing" -- meaning. What I admire about Sprecher is that she trusts her audience wholeheartedly. She is clearly disinterested in highfalutin messages and doesn't hammer her themes to death. In fact, the best scenes in the movie aren't big revelations, dramatic monologues or directorial set pieces, but subtle character moments: a conversation that hits the right note, a glance that suggests a subtext, a smile. The movie refused to leave my head for weeks, an impact disproportionate to the movie's quiet sombre tone. A rare film that manages to evoke emotions and provoke thinking. Buy it! Watch it! Talk about it!
Rating:
Summary: Am I the only one who sees this as 21 Grams' "daddy"?
Review: You know, the hit-and-run, the cheating, the same "fate" theme, the same pursuit for redemption and happiness... I'm not saying that Inarritu ripped this off, but I'm guessing he must have seen "13 Conversations". And actually, from having watched each film only once (and "13" not even all the way from the beginning), I find Jill Sprecher's work more impressive. Perhaps my expectations were too high for 21 Grams, but I found certain plot pieces strained and pushing the credibility envelope. Case in point: why would Benecio Del Torro's "born again" status not have made him stop and help these people he ran over - if he'd been scared, the director owes us a an account of his state of mind at the time, but there wasn't even an attempt to do this. The chronological jumping around in 21 Grams was more gimmicky than artistic. The final scene with the voice over was particularly dissatisfying. By comparison, 13 Conversations felt much more purposeful and confident. Incredible acting talent in both films (good to see Melissa Leo working again after Homicide) - I just found them used better in one movie than the other. Would be interested in other takes on this comparison...
Rating:
Summary: Great movie
Review: This was a deep movie. Highly recommend seeing it. Not sure if it is worth $50.
Rating:
Summary: Complexity That Answers To Happiness
Review: "13 Conversations About One Thing" is an emotional film that will surely move its audiences. It stars Alan Arkin, Clea DuVall, Matthew McConaughey John Turturro, and Oscar nominee Amy Irving ("Yentl"). It desplicts four separate storylines that have one thing in common: they struggle with happiness. One loses his money shortly after winning the lottery, one struggles to keep herself together after an accident, the guy who ran her over struggles with guilt, one struggles with catching her husband cheating, and one whose envy threatens becomes self-destructible. The powerful theme within the events is present in every scene. Their life struggles have the intensity to keep audiences watching closely. The complex stories detail so deeply that audiences must watch the film multiple times to fully understand them. Though some questions have yet to be answered, they will be glad afterwards. Despite the time frames moving back and forth, the plot doesn't lose its touch with the chain of events. In fact, it keeps everything more interesting. The emotional theme is accented by the actors who perform their roles wonderful and expressively, especially Arkin. Their performances alone are unforgettable. "13 Conversations About One Thing" is a great drama that will surely please audiences. This will be remembered for a long time.
Rating:
Summary: A movie that tries to answer questions about happiness
Review: What is happiness? How do we achieve happiness? Do we know what happiness is? Is it by fate, Dame Fortune, or is it something we have to discover for ourselves? That's the thing in 13 Conversations About One Thing. There are various phrases that separate each segment of the movie, such as "fortune smiles on some, fortune laughs on others," which help underline the theme of this movie, as experienced by many characters. There's an actuary, Gene English (Alan Arkin), whose company is going through hard times, and in order to cut back, lets go of Wade, an employee who's always happy and has a smile on his face. His motive that Wade will find some sort of silver lining. And Wade is at first shocked, as he has a family to support. Through this act, we learn more about Gene. He does have problems of his own, as he has a drug-addicted son, and is no longer married. I kind detected a kind of spite in Gene when he fired Wade, the typical case of an unhappy person who can't stand someone being happy. But given the outcomes of both people, it makes one wonder if karma has a role to play in this. The physics professor Walker (John Turturro) is a creature of routine, making his entire life a schedule, whether it be his lover or his office hours, as he makes clear to one student who isn't making an effort in his class and whom he has a certain dislike. He's even left his wife to have an affair in the hopes that some kind of novel stimulation will break him away from the cozy rut of his old life. To him, that's happiness. Yet old habits die hard. He also finds solace in certainty, as his teaching physics irreversible. But in one instant, the effects that we have in what we say to one person is demonstrated later on. Or do, in the case of the actuary. A hotshot prosecutor (Matthew McConaughey) is celebrating a victory in a case, but on his way back, he accidentally hits a young girl and leaves her there, not wanting to undergo legal entanglements--he oughta know, he's a lawyer. Slowly, the guilt he feels affects his life. The girl herself, Beatrice, (Clea DuVall), a housecleaner, initially has a positive outlook on life, yet following her accident, she becomes disillusioned. There are some techniques used a la He Loves Me He Loves Me Not or Happenstance, where things that are seen in later segments fill in gaps or connect previously seen segments. And the performances are great throughout, even one can't sympathize with some of the characters, i.e. the lawyer. Me, I'll take as Wade as my nominee. The viewer is indeed limited in the characters' lives via the film, but it does make one wonder, what happened afterward to them? Do or will they ever find that pot at the end of the rainbow? While there are no easy answers in the question of happiness, which seems to elude most like Tantalus and his fruit, I'll leave with song quotes I found apropos to this movie: "when you expect whistles, it's flutes/when you expect flutes, it's whistles." The name of the song: "Fortune Presents Gifts Not According To The Book."
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