In this acclaimed philosophical comedy of manners a hotshot lawyer (Matthew Mc Conaughey) his career rocketing upwards loses concentration momentarily & becomes the perpetrator of a hit & run. An insurance claims manager (Alan Arkin) with a troubled family life has a pleasant but irritatingly jovial colleague. A finicky physics lecturer (John Turturro) is having a meticulously timetabled affair as a stock response to a mid-life crisis something his wife (Amy Irving) discovers after his recently stolen wallet is returned to her by a conscientious citizen. Meanwhile cleaner Beatrice (Clea Du Vall) is forced to reconsider her idealistic approach to life after being hit by a life-changing accident & an unwarranted accusation. Most of these people cross each other’s paths in some way sometimes casually sometimes prodoundly their conversations in all cases leading them to a greater understanding of the one thing of the film’s title: the elusive nature of happiness.