Judaism is a “silent character” in Nora Ephron’s legacy
Ilana Kaplan’s new book Nora Ephron at the Movies talks about the idea of “comfort” 21 times. That makes sense. “Comfortable” describes the aesthetic of Ephron’s films: cable-knit sweaters, oversized jeans, a city somehow perpetually in autumn. Ephron’s rom-coms with strong female leads have nourished generations of movie-lovers and are often called “comfort films.” In contrast, the word “Jewish” appears only three times in Kaplan’s book, and twice just to describe a certain deli that acts as the setting in one of Ephron’s most iconic scenes . The book focuses on Ephron’s impact on the world of film, not the writer-director’s Jewish background. That’s true to real life. As those who knew the late Ephron personally attest , Ephron’s Jewish identity was something that indeed textured her life and films, but it was by no means the center of her work, nor did she want her background to define her. “She wanted to be known as a director, and not a female director and not a J
