Since making her debut with Walking and Talking in 1996,
Nicole Holofcener has been telling female-centred stories that are notable for
their wit, intelligence and warmth. Despite the consistently high standard of
her work, Holofcener remains one of American cinema's best-kept secrets, with
her work failing to find the audience that it deserves. Her new film Enough
Said will probably receive more attention that all of her previous films
combined, which is a pleasing state of affairs but I wish it were under happier
circumstances. This film marks one of the final screen appearances for the late
James Gandolfini, and for this reason a whole new audience is likely to
encounter Nicole Holofcener's work for the first time.
What they will discover is a film that bears the hallmarks
of her previous films, but which is also something new. Holofcener's pictures
to date have been ensemble films built around a single theme, whereas Enough
Said is much more narrative-driven, with the whole film hinging on a
sitcom-style premise. Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is an LA-based masseuse getting
back into the dating game some years after her divorce. She meets Albert
(Gandolfini) at a party and, despite a lack of initial attraction, the pair
begin seeing each other, with their relationship being built on a shared sense
of humour and worldview. Their first date is Holofcener at her best, as she
allows us to simply spend time in the company of her two lead actors, enjoying
their very funny exchanges and Louis-Dreyfus's infectious laughter. I could
have happily watched a whole movie that consisted of nothing more than
Holofcener's characters hanging out and trading quips, but the plot soon throws
a spanner in the works.
When Eva realises that Albert is the loutish ex-husband that
her new client Marianne (Holofcener stalwart Catherine Keener) spends their
sessions complaining bitterly about, she decides to keep the revelation to
herself. Instead she takes the opportunity to learn about her new partner's
flaws, but this information soon starts to warp her own perspective on Albert's
behaviour and begins to poison their happiness. When things inevitably come to
a head, as we know it must, it feels like Holofcener is adhering to convention
in a way that feels contrived and strained. Where I was enjoying the experience
of being in these characters' company, I suddenly felt distracted by the
machinations of the script and started anticipating predictable story beats.
This is not really material that plays to the director's
strengths but she manages to use it as a framework through which she can
examine the way people approach relationships and attempt to use prior
experiences to protect themselves against potential future heartbreak. It
doesn't feel like Enough Said has the weight or incisiveness of some of her
earlier work, but if this is to be seen as a straightforward romantic comedy
then it certainly feels funnier, smarter and truer than almost any other recent
entry in the genre. Surrounding the central narrative there is Holofcener's usual
brand of superbly performed character-based comedy, involving the inability of
Eva's friend (Toni Collette) to fire her maid or Eva's relationship with her
daughter (Tracey Fairaway) and her daughter's best friend (Tavi Gevinson). These
well-observed aspects of the script help to alleviate its occasionally tortured
adherence to convention.
Above all else, Enough Said is a triumph of against-type
casting. Despite being a consistently terrific presence on TV over the past two
decades, Julia Louis-Dreyfus can't have been high on many lists of potential
feature film leads, but she gives a sparkling performance here and the
chemistry she shares with Gandolfini is magic. Of course, watching James
Gandolfini in this role is a bittersweet experience, but his portrayal of the
gentle and vulnerable Albert gives him the opportunity to play notes that few
other directors have asked of him, and it reaffirms that this was a truly great
whom we have lost far too soon.
