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CALL ME a curmudgeon or a Luddite, but I admit that I'm rarely impressed by English-language movies announcing themselves as "a film by..."
It might suit subtitled films - in English, however, it reeks of pretension.
That's what Jill Sprecher offers - that and some of the tritest lines outside of fortune cookies.
Director screenwriter Sprecher - with sister Karen - interweaves five hardly compelling stories set in contemporary New York, charting the effect that people have on others' lives.
The concept's neither new nor profound and, despite some strong performances, notably Alan Arkin's philosophical insurance office manager and, more unexpectedly, Matthew McConaughey's guilt-ridden lawyer, it's slow, boring and, ultimately, considerably less profound than it thinks that it is.
Bland aphorisms that the Sprecher sisters hope will pass for profundity include Hallmark phrases such as "Luck is the lazy man's excuse" and, my personal favourite, "Show me a happy man and I'll show you a disaster waiting to happen."
Arkin utters the latter line to McConaughey, but it would better be aimed at the film's several producers. The film has been hanging around since 2001 waiting for a release. I'd happily have waited longer.
ETHAN CARTER
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