LFF 2013: Enough Said *****
Watching this film pains you to think just how pivotal this role could have been for the late Sopranos star James Gandolfini, who although was a larger-than-life character in the TV Mafioso series, was only just getting a foothold in big-screen leading roles. In the past, he’s played an alcoholic hitman (Killing Them Softly), a general (In The Loop) and only close to leading man status in 2005’s musical Romance & Cigarettes. Romantic comedy Enough Said shows how tender and naturally funny the big guy could be. It’s a heartbreaking watch as it’s one of his finest performances.
Divorcee Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), a masseuse, meets poet Marlanne (Catherine Keener) at a party. She also meets Albert (Gandolfini), recently divorced. Although she says she’s not attracted to him to best friend Sarah (Toni Collette) and her hubby Will (Ben Falcone), she agrees to go on a date, if only for the companionship, especially as her only daughter is off to college soon. Meanwhile, Eva starts massaging her new client, neurotic Marlanne who bitches constantly about her ex and his bad habits. As her relationship with Albert blossoms, her friendship with Marlanne does too, but connecting the dots, she realises with horror that her new beau and her friend have a past.
Writer-director Nicole Holofcener has penned a wonderfully awkward and touching story that manages to keep the ‘foot-in-mouth’ syndrome suffered by its bunch of hapless characters going until the very end in a marvellous set of familiar everyday scenarios. Louis-Dreyfus – Golden Globe winner for Seinfeld in 1994 – is an absolute gem in this, grimacing her way through uncomfortable silences, tabooed subjects and harsh comments like she’s naively navigating the social scene for the first time. Collette, Falcone and Keener add some superb support to enhance, albeit subtly at times, the comedy value to the tension.
However, it’s opposite Gandolfini that Louis-Dreyfus really blooms: there is an easy, sympathetic chemistry between them, as if they have been in a real relationship for years that resonates profoundly – ‘the one’ sought and found, so to speak. That said as the title goes, some things are better left unsaid and it’s the power behind the words and their true meaning that’s a delight to witness unfold. Both actors play with nervous giggles and light teasing in a charming fashion. Unlike other standard rom-coms, this never feels false but achieved in a sophisticated and highly plausible manner, without any schmaltz in idyllic surroundings – there’s a strong suggestion that both lead characters make a modest income and are happy with their lot.
Holofcener and cast try to create something familiar that we all can recognise to an extent and smile at. The beauty is how the ups and downs play out so realistically and how effortlessly the outcomes arrive, minus prompts. Enough Said is superior romantic comedy once again from the writer-director of Please Give and Friends With Money. It’s just a great shame we won’t see her work with Gandolfini again, like she has with Keener.
5/5 stars
By @FilmGazer
