The last trailer that ran before Enough Said was for the new Thor film and it would be hard to find two more diametrically opposite movies than Thor: The Dark World and Enough Said. The former appears to be another bloated special effects heavy comic book movie aimed at adolescents, the latter is a beautifully observed romantic comedy about the difficulties of a new relationship between two middle aged divorcees.
As such, it is a real breath of fresh air, but it doesn’t come as a surprise being written and directed by the criminally underrated Nicole Holofcener. This is just her fifth movie since her debut, Walking and Talking, in 1996, but every film since has been brilliantly written, with great performances and mediocre box office returns!
Even by those high standards, Enough Said is in my opinion a step up from her last three films – Lovely and Amazing, Friends with Money and Please Give – and her best effort yet.
At it’s centre are two wonderful performances by actors better known for their TV work : Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the late James Gandolfini. You would expect Louis-Dreyfus to make full use of the comic possibilities involved when she realises that at the same time as beginning a relationship with Gandolfini that she becomes friends with his ex wife, without either of them knowing about the other.
It is great, and bearing in mind his death shortly after making this film, bittersweet, to see Gandolfini, so closely linked to his role as Tony Soprano, delivering a tender and nuanced performance like this.
The banter between the two as they begin to hit it off is both funny and natural. Although the plot doesn’t hold many great surprises, it avoids most of the usual rom-com clichés. It should keep you rooting for the new couple until the moment that the film reaches a satisfying conclusion.