String Theory (2002)

String Theory is about the desperate need of every human being to find meaning in the post-modern world. String Theory is about God, love between strangers, addiction, disease, the most powerful hallucinogen on the planet, eleven dimensional physics, and surfing. In Santa Monica a pastor dies, leaving the fate of his building up to his small congregation. During the course of one day, two forces compete for control. Hidden from the congregation, the main use of the building has actually been as a homeless shelter. One of the homeless enlists the aid of his friend, a physics obsessed surfer, to advocate for a permanent shelter. Against them are a crooked councilman and a desperate TV minister hoping to sell the property to a developer. Into this steps a dissatisfied lawyer who is about to have the course of her life altered forever by a simple lunch date. The Altman-esque cast is rounded out by a Latin numbers runner, an ex-KGB politico, a professor, a prostitute, and a mysteriously mute boy. By the end, each of these characters in their own way, discovers exactly what gives their lives meaning.