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many of the extraordinary cast, including
Robert DeNiro and Christopher
Walken. It's a shattering element to add
to the already unsettling story being told
on screen.
Next:
Enough Said (93 minutes)
Director - Nicole Holofcener, 2013
James Gandolfini's sudden death at
age 51 came as a shock. But then, there
was that nagging thought of: "...a heart
attack? Well, you know..." Which is a sad
assumption to make, but the brain's normal defense mechanism in trying to make
some sort of sense out of something so
awful.
Yes, Gandolfini was a big guy. His
larger-than-life presence played heavily
into the character of his alter ego, Tony
Soprano (in HBO's The Sopranos from
1999-2007), providing both a physical stature
necessary for extreme intimidation and,
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alternately, an often-debilitating source of
physical weakness and self-hatred.
In Enough Said, which was released
less than a month after his death,
Gandolfini's weight is used in a thoughtfully humorous way as something both
attractive and off-putting. Most importantly, the character is comfortable with
who he is, whether or not others are. It is
a performance filled with quiet wit and
complex joy that signaled a possible new
direction for the actor trying to shed his
iconic gangster persona. He and the luminous Julia Louis-Dreyfus play lovers
who are slipping into middle-age, realizing they need to make a new beginning in
their lives, despite how much is behind
them and how little may be ahead of
them.
Both films are worth a look, and it's
OK if you shed a tear while viewing. The
potential of both of these fine actors,
whose lives were cut too short, will never
be fully realized, but they both leave
behind a legacy forever captured on film.