“You hurt my feelings”, interview with director Nicole Holofcener

February 8, 2024

Nicole Holofcener, director of You hurt my feelings: “this is a film about trust, lies, and the things we say to the people we love most”.

“You hurt my feelings”, interview with director Nicole Holofcener Chiara Nicoletti

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After its world premiere at the 2023 edition of Sundance Film Festival and its italian premiere at the 41st Torino Film Festival, in November 2023, You Hurt my feelings by director and scriptwriter Nicole Holofcener is finally landing in Italian movie theaters from February 8,2024 with Vertice 360.

Starring again Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 10 years after Enough Said, the film tries to answer a difficult and tricky question: “where do you draw the line between being supportive and being honest?”

With the story of a popular writer (Louis-Dreyfus) who feels betrayed by her husband as she accidentally discovers that he doesn’t really like her new book, Holofcener analyzes the value of truth in relationships. “Is it OK for someone to love me but not love everything I do? Or is my ego so frail it can’t take it? The script flowed from that concept – says Holofcener – and as it did, it became about marriage, truth, loyalty, and parenting.”.

You Hurt my feelings also talks about the protagonist’s relationship with her son as it is very difficult to find a balance between telling the truth to your son/ daughter about their abilities and their flows and still make them feel whole and ready for today’s world with the necessary level of support.

Plot

Beth (Louis-Dreyfus), a popular writer, and her husband Don, a well-liked teacher, share the kind of relationship that truly, seriously, for the love of God cannot be real: that is, they’re actually in love. Even after decades of marriage, parenting, and their own successful careers, their physical spark has somehow not diminished; in fact, they seem to relish the opportunity to share a single ice cream cone and drive others – including their son, Charlie – mad. Should it come as a surprise then that his own marriage is in crisis?
But when Beth discovers that Don has been untruthful to her about his opinion of her work for years – Beth’s world comes crashing down. Has their whole relationship been one Big Fat Lie?

Written by: Chiara Nicoletti

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