The first film of the Comox Valley Art Gallery/TIFF-Film Circuit Winter Film Series is the highly acclaimed Enough Said, which screens this Sunday at 5 p.m.
This smart and decidedly modern romantic comedy from indie stalwart Nicole Holofcener (Please Give, Friends with Money) follows the misadventures of a divorcée embarking on a new relationship.
Holofcener continues her perennial collaboration with Catherine Keener, as well as enlisting two iconic television talents: Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld, Veep); and the late James Gandolfini (Sopranos, Not Fade Away, Where the Wild Things Are), in one of his final screen roles.
In a typically delightful performance, Louis-Dreyfus plays Eva, a divorced soon-to-be-empty-nester who makes her living as a massage therapist. One night at a party, she meets the sweetly affable Albert (Gandolfini), a television archivist with a college-bound daughter of his own.
After a promising first date, the two pursue a tender courtship. But while Albert is warm and witty, Eva remains wary; the baggage of her failed marriage impedes her from full commitment.
So too does her growing friendship with fellow divorcée Marianne (Keener), who seems quite comfortable in her bitterness.
Discovering how Holofcener resolves this fraught scenario is one of the deeper pleasures of Enough Said. That the film’s resolution feels so truthful speaks to her uncompromising devotion to her characters, and to her cast’s equal determination to bring honest, messy details to their performances. Cast against type, Gandolfini is especially marvellous here, providing a poignant reminder of the loss his premature passing represents.
Tickets and passes are available at the CVAG gift shop at 580 Duncan Ave. in downtown Courtenay and at the door if available (Door: cash only, exact change appreciated). All screenings are at the Rialto Theatre at the Driftwood Mall in Courtenay.
To purchase tickets/passes over the phone, call CVAG at 250- 338‑6211, for complete film series information visit www.comoxvalleyartgallery.com/events/film-series.
— Comox Valley Art Gallery
