I’ve been a film lover for as long as I can remember, and for almost as long as that, I’ve been a fan of Nora Ephron.
Sleepless In Seattle is one of the first movies I can clearly remember not just watching, but loving, as a child. Silkwood was the first movie I watched with Cher in it, and being a lifetime of devotee of Cher, that was a pretty big deal. You’ve Got Mail was one of the first films my family got on DVD, so naturally it was watched approximately a million times. Julie & Julia was one of the few movies I allowed myself to go and see at the cinema in my third year of university despite the fact that I had a)no time and b)no money. Nora’s always been there, whether I knew it or not, and now she’s gone. She is linked with my childhood, my teen years, and my adult life.
What made her so special? Was it the fact that she was a woman in a man’s world and had to work that much harder for her success? I don’t think so. That’s what’ll come up in every obituary and feature written on her over the next few days, but that wasn’t her defining accomplishment. For me, it was her warmth, her humour, the ease with which she took to so many different skills, the effortlessness with which she displayed her craft.
Her films are comfortable, warm snuggly hugs on a cold day when the world’s getting you down. To me, they’re the film equivalent of comfort food. I know, no matter how crappy I’m feeling, I can put one of her films in the DVD player and I will instantly feel better, despite the fact that Meg Ryan is bound to be in it. (I have a completely unfair and unjustified hatred of Meg Ryan which I have never been able to describe but which has always filled me with bile. I inherited this from my mother. ) They’re not all perfect, and some of them have pretty major flaws, but I don’t care. I loved them, and they’re there when I need them. That’s all that matters to me.
There’s so much that I want to say in this, but really, I think to realise what we’ve lost, all you have to do is go and watch any of her films. You’ll immediately feel a warm glow somewhere deep inside your tummy, and a smile will slowly creep across your face. The easy music will wash over you, the performances will make you laugh, the locations will make you envious. Then you’ll realise, the woman that managed to do that to you is no longer with us. That’s what we’ve lost. That indescribable cuddle from a woman we never met.
bywayofthegreenlinebus 