When Eva meets Albert at a cocktail party in L.A. they both bemoan the fact that there are no attractive single people there. They joke about it together and the moment passes, and when Eva gets home later she's more excited that she was introduced to Marianne a rather glamorous Poet who wants to become one of her massage clients. However word gets back to Eva that Albert asked for her number to fix up a date, a prospect that she is not too excited about as he is more than a little overweight.
The date to her amazement is a big success as they quickly establish an easy rapport, and most importantly, make each other laugh. There is however no sexual chemistry, well at least on Eva's part, but a second date follows and once she gets over her lack of immediate physical attraction to Albert, she realises that this very sensitive man is a great catch, and that she would be a fool not to give the budding romance a go.
Both are middle-aged and divorced with a teenage daughter a piece who are both about to leave home to go to College. Albert and Eva are both smart, quick-witted and funny, a little relationship weary but pleasantly surprised that they are so enjoying all the joys of courting at this stage of their lives.
Meanwhile chic Marianne (Catherine Keener) in her spotless elegant house has become not just a client but also asks to become Eva's friend. With all her patronizing airs and graces its easy to see why she has no other friends, and a lot of her conversation is devoted to dishing her ex husband of whom she still retains a great deal of anger about. Eva on the other hand shares about her new beau and their blossoming relationship and even though the women compare notes, neither of them are aware that Albert the boyfriend is also the ex-husband that Marianne bitterly hates.
When Eva discovers the fact she shares the news with her best friend Sarah (Toni Collette) but not with either Albert or Marianne. As time passes some of the complaints that are levelled against Albert by his ex-wife start to niggle away at Eva who starts to question her judgement about the way that she perceives her boyfriend. It causes friction between the two lovers but not quite as much as when the inevitable thing happens and they all discover not only the existence of the triangle but the fact that Eva had kept it from them both for some weeks.
This rather wonderful bitter-sweet romantic comedy is such a joy on so many levels. Primarily because its a mature love story about two such likeable and engaging characters. The fact that the brilliantly funny Julia Louis-Dreyfus pitches Eva so perfectly that we tend to still want to root for here even though she has behaved badly by manipulating Albert and at the same time totally neglected her patient daughter. And the inspired casting of James Gandolfini, who always plays mobsters, heavies or a military bigwig, to be this super-sweet easy-going gentle giant of a man who is the more romantic of the two by far. It's a wonderful role in this penultimate film of his to remember a great acting talent who will be sorely missed.
And finally this movie has restored my faith in writer/director Nicole Holofcener who is back on the form that I so admired in 'Lovely and Amazing' in 2001 and has been absent from all her near misses since.
There is one glorious scene when after a particularly enjoyable date Eva claims that she is so tired of being funny all the time. I so disagreed. Miss Louis-Dreyfus shines particularly bright when she is making both her beau and us laugh. I couldnt get enough.
Currently in US cinemas
★★★★★★★★★
