Tonight I saw Enough Said, starring James Gandolfini and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Eva (Louis-Dreyfus) is a divorced masseuse ready to send her daughter Ellen (Tracey Fairaway) off to college. She accompanies her best friends—a married couple—to a party and meets two people.
The first, Marianne (Catherine Keener), is a poet with a shoulder that is in desperate need of massage therapy; the second, Albert (Gandolfini) is Marianne's ex-husband.
When Eva meets them, she has no idea they were once married to each other. She begins dating Albert and immediately feels a chemistry with him. Alternately, Marianne becomes her client and they develop a genuine friendship.
It's only when Eva sees their daughter Tessa (Eve Hewson) at Marianne's house that she makes the connection.
Unfortunately, instead of coming clean then and there, she keeps her knowledge of their past a secret and mines Marianne for information about Albert. Because Marianne is so bitter toward her ex, the the things she describes that once bothered her begin to bother Eva.
This scenario is refreshing because it could (and probably does) happen in real life. Furthermore, both leads are so endearing, it's hard not to root for them to end up together, even with Albert's sloppy faults and Eva's bad judgment.
It's a relief to see Louis-Dreyfus not playing a silly or snarky woman and borderline heartbreaking to watch Gandolfini at his most gentle, the way most who knew him personally describe his real-life personality.
The supporting cast is fantastic too—Toni Colette effortlessly plays Eva's flawed best friend, who just happens to be a shrink, and Eve Hewson nails the self-absorbed teenage daughter part.
I've always been a fan of writer/director Nicole Holofcener's gift for painting such real characters and this movie may be her best of all.
Go see it as soon as possible. And then go see it again.
~~~
Showing posts with label Nicole Holofcener. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nicole Holofcener. Show all posts
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Sunday, July 04, 2010
Please Give
Today I saw Please Give, starring Catherine Keener and Rebecca Hall.
If you're not prepared to view life as it is sometimes lived, you probably want to stay away from Nicole Holofcener films such as this. I, for one, happen to love the fact that this writer/director creates characters who feel like real, breathing human beings, but I can see how they may depress others.
The subjects of this indie are neighbors. Kate (Keener) and Alex (Oliver Platt) are a married couple who own a vintage furniture business as they raise their only child, teenage Abby (Sarah Steele). Next door is 91-year-old Andra (Ann Morgan Guilbert), a miserable aging coot who is looked upon by her granddaughters. Rebecca (Hall) is the responsible, patient radiologist that acts compassionately no matter how badly her grandmother treats her; Mary (Amanda Peet) is the sexy, shallow spa worker who only visits Andra when forced.
Kate has a habit of giving money to strangers because she feels so guilty about her business. She and Alex aren't involved in any illegal activity, but they have been known to take advantage of families of the recently deceased who have valuable furniture and don't realize its worth.
Everyone in this film is searching for something: Abby desires the perfect jeans to offset her battle with acne; Kate wants a charitable cause to fill the hole in her heart; Alex seeks the excitement missing from his marriage; Rebecca would like a boyfriend; Mary wants answers as to why a muscle-heavy saleslady stole her man; Grandma wants her shopping granddaughters to use her carefully clipped coupons. Please, give.
The lives of these neighbors are intertwined as they offer the odd olive branch, but of course not everything works out for the best. As in reality, there are lies, deceptions, awkward silences and guilty consciences as a result of the bad decisions they make.
What I liked about this film (and its entire stellar cast) was that none of the characters were people who were difficult to relate to. Even those making choices we hope we wouldn't make didn't seem like horrible people—they were just wounded.
There's something life-affirming about watching people struggle and then advance past whatever is troubling them. Please Give reminds us that life isn't simple for anyone.
~~~
If you're not prepared to view life as it is sometimes lived, you probably want to stay away from Nicole Holofcener films such as this. I, for one, happen to love the fact that this writer/director creates characters who feel like real, breathing human beings, but I can see how they may depress others.
The subjects of this indie are neighbors. Kate (Keener) and Alex (Oliver Platt) are a married couple who own a vintage furniture business as they raise their only child, teenage Abby (Sarah Steele). Next door is 91-year-old Andra (Ann Morgan Guilbert), a miserable aging coot who is looked upon by her granddaughters. Rebecca (Hall) is the responsible, patient radiologist that acts compassionately no matter how badly her grandmother treats her; Mary (Amanda Peet) is the sexy, shallow spa worker who only visits Andra when forced.
Kate has a habit of giving money to strangers because she feels so guilty about her business. She and Alex aren't involved in any illegal activity, but they have been known to take advantage of families of the recently deceased who have valuable furniture and don't realize its worth.
Everyone in this film is searching for something: Abby desires the perfect jeans to offset her battle with acne; Kate wants a charitable cause to fill the hole in her heart; Alex seeks the excitement missing from his marriage; Rebecca would like a boyfriend; Mary wants answers as to why a muscle-heavy saleslady stole her man; Grandma wants her shopping granddaughters to use her carefully clipped coupons. Please, give.
The lives of these neighbors are intertwined as they offer the odd olive branch, but of course not everything works out for the best. As in reality, there are lies, deceptions, awkward silences and guilty consciences as a result of the bad decisions they make.
What I liked about this film (and its entire stellar cast) was that none of the characters were people who were difficult to relate to. Even those making choices we hope we wouldn't make didn't seem like horrible people—they were just wounded.
There's something life-affirming about watching people struggle and then advance past whatever is troubling them. Please Give reminds us that life isn't simple for anyone.
~~~
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