Nicole Holofcener is a Master of Quick Wit and Emotional Resonance

Nine years ago today, Enough Said was released in the US. Today we’re celebrating its writer and director, Nicole Holofcener!

Nicole Holofcener is a talented screenwriter and director, known and loved for her ability to create characters that are both profoundly funny and deeply relatable. Of Nicole’s filmmaking style, FF2 contributor Katusha Jin writes, “Holofcener’s films feel authentic, stories about people like your coworker or your neighbor. Most of her work is based on stories that are very “real” and reflect the everyday lives of women from the middle class. Women can go into her movies expecting to see some of the common struggles of love, friendships, and life as an average woman. Although her films often follow an unconventional structure, they provide detailed character exploration that has been very much respected among critics. Unsurprisingly, most of her films also feature a female in the lead role.”

Nicole has directed episodes of a number of widely beloved television shows, such as Orange is the New Black, Unbreakable Kimmy Shmidt, Parks and Recreation, Gilmore Girls, and Sex and the City. She was even featured in an episode of Bojack Horseman, in which she voiced herself as “Indie Director Nicole Holofcener”.

However, the highlights of her career have been in film. Nicole wrote the screenplay for The Last Duel (2021), and Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018), the latter of which she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and a BAFTA for Best Screenplay. She has also directed six feature films in total including Walking and Talking (1996), Friends with Money (2006), Lovely and Amazing (2001) and of course, Enough Said (2013). She was also the writer for all six.

In a review of Enough Said, FF2 Editor-in-Chief Jan Lisa Huttner writes, “What was already a very good film about two people named ‘Eva’ (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and ‘Albert’ (James Gandolfini)–both wounded by divorce and wary about trying to take a new run at love–becomes even more resonant with the tragic loss of Gandolfini (so wonderful here in what has since become his final major role).”

It’s safe to say that Nicole’s ability to create stories and characters that are both down-to-Earth and entertaining is matched by very few. She has certainly had an impressive career so far, and as we look ahead to her upcoming film, You Hurt My Feelings, starring Tobias Menzies and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, it’s clear that she has a lot ahead of her, too.