You Hurt My Feelings
★★★★★
You Hurt My Feelings spoke to my creative soul. As somebody who has always had an artistic bent to my profession, I understand the hard balance between criticism and support. Director/writer Nicole Holofcener brilliantly and comically explores the themes of love and support when it comes to balancing personal and professional aspirations. The cast is pitch-perfect. Julia Louis-Dreyfus has always been one of my favorite comedic actresses and she once again shows her dynamic range as a novelist who is a bit on the fragile side. Her stiff and stoic shrink husband played by Tobias Menzies is a perfect counterpart and you fully believe that these two are in a loving and supportive marriage. What caught me by surprise was how deep and thought-provoking the supporting characters' stories were as well. Michaela Watkins is always a bright spot and the ultimate "I love her, what's her name?" Arian Moayed comedicly plays against type as a struggling actor and anyone in the arts can relate to the son (Owen Teague) who just can't seem to finish that first play.
I fully understand that others might not be as quick to give this five stars as me, but if I were a filmmaker, this is the type of film that I would strive to make. It presents very philosophical quandaries with extremely relatable characters, but most importantly, makes you laugh as well. Best of all, the premise never leads to a false or unrealistic finish. The journey that these characters take is well-earned and believable. Any profession is hard because you have to put yourself out there so much, but the creative arts lends itself to being more vulnerable because it can be so personal. This movie begs the question if Holofcener is vulnerable enough to read the reviews of this film or if she is completely fine with her partners in life telling her that it is great. I hope she can hear me. You Hurt My Feelings is fantastic!
