Roundtable Interview With Catherine Keener And Toni Collette On Enough Said

Enough Said is a bit of a departure for writer/director Nicole Holofcener, who has become beloved amongst indie movie fans for her quirky, New York-set relationship dramadies that seem almost organic and slightly meandering in the way they unfold.

This film, however, is set in California and has a much more traditional plot structure, this time about a middle-aged masseuse (Louis-Dreyfus) who, at the urging of her best friend (Collette), embarks on a relationship with a lovable bear of a man (Gandolfini) while also unknowingly taking on his bitter ex-wife (Keener) as a client and potential friend.

One aspect of the Holofcener magic that has remained the same however is the crackling, realistic dialogue, just one of the many reasons that Collette was eager to sign on to the film: “Nicole just gets it. She sees life and she’s able to capture it and it’s so exciting to read.” Keener adds, “She’s a really exquisite writer. In the past people would read her scripts in the early stages and kind of miss it because I think they’re used to reading scripts where there’s a lot more delineated. But she writes with such economy and it’s so honest, direct and real for her characters. Her voice is very specific and unique.”

Keener, a veteran of Holofcener’s previous four films, insists that the excellent dialogue is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what draws so many wonderful actors to her decidedly independent projects. “In my experience, if there’s more money involved it becomes more neurotic. But Nicole runs a set that allows you to just be creative. You know what you’re there for which is to just be stimulated and stimulate each other. It’s easy. And the quality’s just so good already that if you just show up and do your work and try to be present, it’s bound to be great.”

For Collette, a fan of Holofcener’s for years, the reality of working with the director more than lived up to her high expectations. “I just loved her films and now having worked with her, I can say in all honesty that she’s pretty f-ckin’ awesome. She just creates this incredible atmosphere where you feel so free as an actor. There are no games. It’s so relaxed…that’s really unusual.”

“Absolutely!” exclaims Keener. “It would be great if other directors took their cues from her.”

That concludes our interview but we’d like to thank Toni and Catherine for taking the time to talk with us. Enough Said opens in theatres on September 27, 2013.