13 conversations about one thing download

Jill Sprecher Director. David Connelly Owen. Joseph Siravo Bureau Chief. Matthew McConaughey Troy. John Turturro Walker. Alan Arkin Gene. Clea Du Vall Beatrice. Amy Irving Patricia. Frankie R. Faison Dick Lacey. Additional information Directors Jill Sprecher. Directors Jill Sprecher. Studio Sony Pictures. Subtitles English CC. Released year Age rating Restricted. Duration 1 h 43 min. In the second scene Alan Arkin plays Gene, an adjustment manager for an insurance firm, and Matthew McConaughey plays Troy, a district attorney.

Gene and Troy meet at a bar — during happy hour no less. Upon winning the lottery, the co-worker did not find happiness. Thus it is clear that happiness is not financial security. A definiens of happiness is offered, shown to be achieved, and yet the person is not happy. He appears to get away with vehicular homicide. His next successful prosecution involves convicting a young man of manslaughter. This leads to suggestions of promotion, but it also leads to a deepening angst and guilt because he has avoided being found guilty for the hit and run.

So, although he was once able to measure his success and happiness in terms of the number of cases won, once confronted with the possibility that he deserves to be on the other side of a prosecution, this measure becomes a means to his loss of happiness. Why do these two definitions fail? Happiness could also be measured in terms of how far up the corporate ladder one manages to climb. This is how Gene defines happiness, and this too turns out to be a poor definition.

Gene has been working very hard all his life. So far he has become a middle manager at the firm. He believes that this hard work is finally going to pay off, in terms of becoming Vice President of the company.

However, in the process he has become an embittered individual who has lost his wife, become estranged from his son, and generally appears to dislike anyone who seems more light-hearted and less hard-working than himself. So, Gene has career success, but becomes unhappy because this success has cost him many other things of value. Another main character in the film is a physics professor named Walker, played by John Turturo.

His attempt to define happiness involves via negativa , negativity: happiness is achieved by avoiding predictability, routine, or resignation to the status quo.

Yet despite attempts at changing his life, Walker is still stuck in a routine, albeit a new one. Moreover, this new routine does not bring happiness. By the end of the affair broken off unexpectedly by his mistress , Walker is suffering from panic attacks and seeking counseling. Walker also attempted to define happiness, but his negative definition does not neatly fit the naturalistic fallacy.