Writer-director Nicole Holofcener is quite apt at making intelligent and genuine films for adults. Her previous movies, Friends With Money (2006) and Enough Said (2013), dealt with mature themes of uncertainty – both in career and in relationships – be it friends, family, or lovers. Her latest, You Hurt My Feelings, reteams the director with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who seems to be the perfect fit as Holofcener’s avatar in her films. Following a strong reception at Nantucket, we were gifted with listening to the director discuss her process (Holofcener was also on hand to receive the Screenwriters Tribute Award). It was clear that Holofcener wrote the lead character of You Hurt My Feelings with both herself and Louis-Dreyfus in mind.
Like Holofcener’s other work, the premise of You Hurt My Feelings is simple and one that we are all familiar with. That is what makes her movies so accessible and so great. Holofcener’s films are grounded in reality with characters and situations we often encounter or have experienced.
You Hurt My Feelings is a sharp and good-humored comedy about Beth, an author (Louis-Dreyfus) whose enduring and affectionate marriage to Don (Tobias Menzies) is flipped upside down when she overhears his honest reaction to her latest work. Being an incredibly supportive partner, Don has never shown anything but encouragement for the novel she has written and rewritten several dozen times. She is caught completely off-guard by what she has overheard, and questions of trust and doubt in everything she knows ensue.
You Hurt My Feelings has an eclectic cast, all doing their career-best work. Another reason the film worked so well is the way Holofcener developed her characters and gave her actors room to breathe into their roles. There are many moments that were improvised by the cast, something Holofcener encouraged from the start. Menzies is incredibly adorable as a struggling therapist coming to terms with his aging looks; Michaela Watkins (who was also in attendance for the Q&A) was splendid as Beth’s much, much younger sister, Sarah, an inadequate interior decorator; and Succession’s Arian Moayed plays Mark, Sarah’s husband, whose career as an actor seems to be declining. The cast is brimming with other terrific performances, many playing Don’s patients, including David Cross, Amber Tamblyn, and Zach Cherry. Owen Teague is great as Don and Beth’s son, an aspiring playwright, and Jeannie Berlin is a scene-stealer, hilariously playing Beth and Sarah’s mother, Georgia.
You Hurt My Feelings is brutally honest about the way we seek approval from the people we are closest to, and how we often find it hard to critique those we love. It gorgeously demonstrates the absurdities we go through to protect the feelings of those we love. We all want honest feedback until we get it. Holofcener gently asks whether it is more important to be falsely supportive or learn to provide constructive criticism, and in the process shows us that we should all be more receptive to all kinds of commentary from those we trust and love.
At the Q&A following the film, Holofcener talked about the process she undertakes when writing a screenplay and the multiple revisions that take place as she crafts her story. Her collaboration with her cast and the way she empowered them to deviate where they felt necessary paid off handsomely. You Hurt My Feelings is the best performance of Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ career. She’s sensitive and vulnerable in ways that are both hilarious and heartfelt, and the mature audience at Nantucket ate it up. This is a much-watch film for anyone hungry for an adult comedy about real people facing real situations in ways both honest and hilarious.
I was able to take in three other films, including The Pod Generation, starring Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor, a science fiction film that asks what are we willing to give up for convenience; 
Dreamin’ Wild, based on the true story of obscure late 70s musicians, Donnie and Joe Emerson, played by the great Casey Affleck and Walton Goggins, respectively; and Joan Baez I Am A Noise, a deeply fascinating portrait of the activist and folk music icon. The Joan Baez doc really digs deep into the exciting highs and demoralizing lows that come with fame. Fan of hers, both new and old, will very much enjoy this film.
We wrapped the day with my favorite part of the Nantucket Film Festival: the annual Late Night Storytelling event. This event is one of the coolest and most entertaining programs of any festival I attend. Emceed once again by the hilarious comedian and host of the comedy podcast Parenting is a Joke, Ophira Eisenberg, the event gathers several writers, directors, and other figures together to tell 5-7 minute short stories that focus on a central theme. This year’s theme was “Get Me Out of Here,” and featured brief and often side-splitting tales of flight/escape.
Nantucket once again seems to be delivering exceptional films and outstanding side programs. It’s one of the best run festivals on the circuit and one that I am always excited to attend.
