BY LOUISE BARRETTO

We all lie. We lie so we don’t hurt people’s feelings, or we lie so we can protect ourselves from the repercussions of the truth. You Hurt My Feelings explores what happens when you find out you’ve been lied to by the person you trust the most. Writer-Director Nicole Holofcener explores the gray line between the kindness of a white lie versus the harsh reality of the truth. Is a lie better or worse? It’s definitely nuanced and sometimes the truth is what you need to hear. How do we know if the situation calls for the kind lie or the harsh truth?

What I love about Holofcener’s films is the absolute mundanity of her scripts while being able to mine the comedic aspects of daily life. She focuses on relationships - friendships and marriages - and digs deeper within those circles so we can better understand ourselves and our place in it. Her other film credits include Friends with Money, Please Give, Enough Said, Walking and Talking. 

You Hurt My Feelings has a lot of elements I love from a romantic comedy, without being about romance. There’s the amazing background of New York City, the aspirational upper class milieu of the characters, the best friend / sidekick, the eccentric but lovable mom.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep, Seinfeld, The New Adventures of Old Christine) plays novelist Beth who is married to Don, an overpriced therapist, (played by Tobias Menzies) and they’re already so in love that their young adult son (played by Owen Teague) feels like a third wheel around them. Beth and Don’s relationship is tested when Beth overhears Don saying he doesn’t like her latest novel. This affects their relationship and offers a chance for them to reach a new status quo as a family.