This quirky romantic comedy is James Gandolfini’s next-to-last film (he had also completed Animal Rescue, which is in post-production), and it presents him in a very flattering light.  He is a lonely divorcee who begins a romance with lonely masseuse Julia Louis-Dreyfus.  Unfortunately for him, Louis-Dreyfus also strikes up a friendship with his ex-wife (Catherine Keener) at the same time.

Nicole Holofcener’s latest film is, unlike so many modern movies, fully centered on full-blooded characters in real situations, with the intent of making sense of love and sex and how people relate to each other.  It is a serious film with comic overtones, much like her earlier films Please Give, Friends with Money, Lovely and Amazing and Walking and Talking, all of which are female-centric, dramatically low-key in nature, which feature strong performances and question much regarding how men and women communicate — or don’t communicate, which is often the case.

Enough Said is Holofcener’s best film yet.  Julia Louis-Dreyfus proves that her talent and beauty transfer very well to the big screen; I’d love to see her more often in feature films.  Catherine Keener — who has been in all five of Holofcener’s movies — is very good as Gandolfini’s ex-wife, who just cannot understand why anybody would be interested in him for any reason.  And Gandolfini, in a nicely understated, very relatable performance, is a very large man whose self-esteem suffers greatly as his ex-wife gradually poisons his new girlfriend’s feelings for him.  Holofcener’s script is full of the details of real life, and her characters ring true.

This isn’t exactly exciting filmmaking, yet it is far more thoughtful, enduring and worthwhile than yet another shallow suspense thriller with spectacular car chases. Holofcener is sort of like a female Woody Allen, though not as prolific, without the East coast / West coast thematic emphasis and, of course, not as funny.  But she has developed a consistent narrative voice, a sharp eye for detail and her films have continued to improve; she is a director to watch.  ☆ ☆ ☆.  3 November 2013.