Nora Ephron

Harry and Sally have firm ideas about men and women, and Ephron lets their embarrassment make those ideas less convincing. When Harry Met Sally... (1989) is the clearest reason to value her writing: Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan have people to play, even when the conversation becomes a debate. Rob Reiner's direction lets the conversation flow, while Carrie Fisher's unfussy delivery keeps the cleverer lines from sounding too pleased with themselves. The jokes tell us what these people would rather keep private. We could do with fewer general rules about the sexes, which become tiresome well before the company does.

Her early screenplays include Silkwood (1983), co-written with Alice Arlen, and Heartburn (1986), adapted from her own novel. The move into directing came with This Is My Life (1992), written with Delia Ephron. Across the writing and directing, food and strongly held preferences keep romance close to ordinary life.

In Sleepless in Seattle (1993), written with Jeff Arch and David S. Ward, she makes longing funny enough to sustain a romance between people who scarcely know each other. We laughed at the tiramisu gag because, for once, somebody was unsure of something in a film so certain about love. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan make much of the sentiment feel earned, but destiny does too much of the thinking for them. The leisurely pace leaves plenty of time to notice how little their attraction has been tested. You've Got Mail (1998), another collaboration with Delia, continues her interest in romance conducted at a distance, this time through email.

In Julie & Julia (2009), she takes cooking seriously as work worth a woman's time. The affection between Meryl Streep's Julia Child and Stanley Tucci's Paul feels comfortable without becoming dull. Ephron's parallel screenplay gives Amy Adams the less rewarding story, however, and never makes Julie Powell's experiences sufficiently compelling on their own. Editor Richard Marks keeps both accounts moving, but the regular returns to Julie start to feel dutiful.

Ephron trusts good company, sometimes enough to excuse a weak connection or an easy answer. Her films are more persuasive when the characters have to talk through a difficulty before affection settles it. When Harry Met Sally... is where we would start, provided we are allowed to disagree with some of the dating advice.