13 Conversations About One Thing focuses on the lives of four individuals and how their lives - coincidentally or not - intersect with each other. Troy (Matthew McConaughey) is a young and ambitious District Attorney from New York City who, after a winning a big case, goes out to celebrate with his colleagues at the bar. Beatrice (Clea DuVall) is an idealistic cleaning woman who's optimistic outlook on life and how "everything happens for a reason" is put to test following an incident. Gene (Alan Arkin) is a mid-level insurance claims manager who's balancing both his personal life, which involves his son's constant battle with drug addiction, and his work life. College Physics professor Walker (John Turturro) is in the midst of a mid-life crisis, having an affair with a fellow colleague. Through one instance or another all four strangers intersect within each others' lives.
While not a flashy film by any means, I couldn't help but find myself thoroughly engaged by this philosophical tale of how random strangers have the capability of altering each others' lives through one choice. We've all heard the saying, "No man is an island", and that's the case here. Whether it's a random act of kindness or quite the opposite, we all are capable of making an impact in someone's life and vice versa, even if it's someone we've never met and will never interact with again. The performances by Matthew McConaughey, Alan Arkin, Clea DuVall, and John Turturro are uniformly strong. We also see a quietly restrained and terrific supporting performance from Amy Irving as Turturro's wife and a solid small role from pre-It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Rob McElhenney for those of you who, like me, are fans of the show. With strong acting and a sharp, profound script from sibling writers Karen and Jill Sprecher, this is a low-key yet strong work of film.
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