Enough Said marks the last lead role for beloved actor James Gandolfini who died earlier this year. As the film opens, director Nicole Holofcener pays tribute to her leading man
“I didn’t originally have James in mind for the character. I had met him before and loved meeting him and thought I would love to work with him at some point. So when I was thinking about casting, I thought of him and was like, ‘Oh yeah! What was I thinking? Of course, he’d be amazing!’ As soon as I got the go ahead to offer him the part, he responded immediately and I felt he’d do a great job. He was a very funny, smart, sweet person, and sexy in spite of his weight. He was just completely charming and that’s what I needed, somebody who was charming and sexy but normal looking, and maybe a little overweight, which he was. I suppose people will be surprised. People say, how did you know he could do it? But his role on The Sopranos was very complex and multi-layered, he wasn’t just this menacing murderer. And it’s tragic in so many ways, in the really big ways, but it’s unfortunate too in terms of the movie because his performance stands alone and is so poignant and lovely that of course his death, for me, makes it hard to watch.”
"James was just completely charming and that’s what I needed, somebody who was charming and sexy but normal looking"
Director Nicole Holofcener is talking about the late actor James Gandolfini, whose charming, nuanced performance in her latest film Enough Said makes it a particularly bittersweet pleasure. A comedy about middle-aged divorcées embarking on a relationship, the film is a tender and funny look at the perils of dating, whatever your age. Gandolfini is Albert, a doting father and archivist whose home life post-divorce is somewhat chaotic. He meets Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s character Eva at a party and the two begin an easy, affectionate relationship that drifts into uncharted waters when Eva discovers her new client and friend is his ex-wife. Holofcener is known for her intelligent ensemble comedies that mine from the Woody Allen and Nora Ephron canon of talky relationship films with neurotic leads. Indeed, she started her career as a runner on Hannah and Her Sisters and the experience of watching and working on Allen’s films, she says, “told me, hey, this can be successful, this can be allowed. You know, I’m a New York Jew, so it was just about right for me”. Rounding out the stellar cast are Catherine Keener as Albert’s ex-wife and Rookie editor Tavi Gevinson in her first film role. All are excellent, but Gandolfini’s wonderful performance hints at the unexplored depths of his talent, making this, his penultimate film, all the more affecting.
Enough Said is in cinemas now.
Text by Laura Allsop
