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Please Give

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Eternally bitter, cynical but never toxic and always with a hint of beautiful humanity, Nicole Holofcener is always a distaff alternative to Woody Allen's neurotic obsessions. Her works, deemed as 'vagina movies', are no less assured, and even surpass the works of her male counterparts; whereas, Allen's works nowadays are consistent in their inconsistency, Holofcener's works organically evolve to correspond to the reality that we live in, and, as response, the people that we become. Her first film, "Walking and Talking" back in 1996 is a thoroughly charming and affable film, with concepts of loneliness, abandonment and feeling lost explored, but the pervading anxiety and bitter humour that have long since been her staple from her second film thereafter, are kept at bay, for most of the time. Her characters continually grow. Now, circa 21st century, and being caustic seems to be a natural trait. Still, Holofcener uses that to great effect; bitterness never overshadows, but merely used as a launching pad to explore the quiet beauty hidden amidst the toxic and the unpleasant.

In her fourth film, "Please Give", she tackles capitalism, displaced guilt, physical appearances, infidelity and death amidst a chaotic, arbitrary world that is rather nihilistic, but only in a gentle, breezy, free-wheeling meaninglessness that does not feel like a discourse on an Ingmar Bergman's nothingness, but more akin to Eric Rohmer's affable meandering that is no less understatingly hurtful and quietly emotional.

Set in rumbling New York City, Kathy (Catherine Keener) and Alex (Oliver Platt) own a furniture store, set by the couple's practice of buying furnitures at very low prices and put them up with high markups. They are also waiting for the next door neighbour, a bitter, ungrateful old hag, Andra (Ann Guilbert), to die so that they could expand the size of their apartment. In the meantime, Andra's two nieces, Rebecca (Rebecca hall) and Mary (Amanda Peet) are dealing with their own problems: Rebecca is a busybody, working as a mammogram technician, keeping romance and personal life at bay; and Mary, a skin consultant, who continually stalks her ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend, and at some point, ends up having an affair with Alex. Amidst all this, Kathy and Alex's daughter, is dealing with her bodily appearance: her weight and acne problems.

"Please Give" sets up this multi-strand storylines via Holofcener's typical free floating, stream-of-conscious fashion that negates the structural device of storytelling, and opts for a presentation of a slice-of-life. The camera adopts an objective point of view, even revelling in arbitrary scenes that seem to never amount to anything, but somehow feel organic to the whole film. And even with this objectivity, it is never unsympathetic, even if most of these characters are unlikeable and even bordering on being nasty.

Indeed, sometimes it's better to start off with the negative to accentuate the positive. With this, Holofcener is able to explore the moral implications of living in a capitalistic society. To what extent does one go to successfully carve out a comfortable life for one's self? Kate's obsession with giving out a lot money to the poor seems irrational, but really an ascetic ideal that she churns out for herself, to get rid of her guilt for her wrong choices in life. It is an inherently self-destructive act, prompted by shame, insecurities, selfishness and self-absorption, that is merely offset by the outer appearance of the act: it is an ostentatiously kind and generous act of giving. Kate's asceticism mirrors Mary's affinity for stalking an unsuspecting woman and having an illicit affair with Alex: the lengths to which one goes to, just to find a name for an undefinable feeling of loneliness and pain. At least, with the daughter, it is called being chubby, and acne-ridden. Wait until she gets older.

All of these characters, just like in any other Holofcener films, feel insignificant; they struggle living in a hostile, unlovable world, and they respond to themselves and to each other in equally hostile, unlovable manner; but there is quiet beauty that is transcendental when one watches Holofcener deviates further more into seemingly random scenes; like seeing an anonymous couple looking for the right furniture in Kathy's store, or Rebecca walking the dog with Kathy's daughter. Like watching an unexpected petal falling off a dying flower, Holofcener's images are delicately evocative, and revelatory in their quietness.

"Please Give" is a very sharp, brutally honest work that is all at once, hilarious, acidic, and always strangely moving, without any need for emotional manipulation or ostentatious dramatic histrionics. See this, not merely as an entertainment, but as an opportunity to bask in its many quiet moments of emotional insights that neither praise nor condemn its characters. Besides, there is Catherine Keener, Holofcener's beloved muse, one of the very few actresses nowadays who can effectively kill someone with merely delivering a cutting remark, and simultaneously still break a heart with pathos for her character.

Kate (Catherine Keener) and Alex (Oliver Platt) are a comfortable New York couple who make their living selling used furniture that they pick up at estate sales. Kate is guilt-stricken about what she sees as the predatory nature of her business and the fact that they are waiting for their elderly neighbor Andra (Ann Guilbert) to die so they can take possession of her apartment and enlarge their own. They have a surly, unhappy teenage daughter with skin issues (Sarah Steele). Andra, a selfish and unkind old lady, is cared for by two granddaughters; Rebecca (Rebecca Hall) is dutiful and forgiving, always the peacemaker, while Mary (Amanda Peet) is self-involved and resentful.

Director Nicole Holofcener's fine film shows how these characters interact with each other, showing that the closely observed details of everyday life can be absolutely riveting. Although some characters are more likable than others, they are not presented in black and white. There are no easy messages either, although it is interesting to consider how feelings of guilt and obligation figure (or don't) in each character's life.

"Please Give" is a film expertly directed by Nicole Holofcener. It is full of realistic portraits of complicated human foibles and yet shines a light on what is important in life.

Kate (Catherine Keener) is a guilt-ridden mother who runs a successful second-hand furniture store in down-town New York with Alex (Oliver Platt), her husband and business partner. They also are feeling that their apartment is too small and plan to knock down a wall when the apartment they own next door becomes vacant. Andra (Ann Morgan Guilbert), their strong-willed elderly tenant seems to be planning to stay and Kate and Alex realize they have to wait for her to die. Evicting her has become out of the question. Abby (Sarah Steele) is their 15 year old daughter who has acne and a determination to buy a $235 pair of designer jeans.

Kate and Alex feel that it is awkward not to be friends with their elderly tenant and invite Andra over for a birthday party, along with her two granddaughters, Mary (Amanda Peet) and Rebecca (Rebecca Hall). Andra is crotchety and not that interested in birthday parties or presents. She comes to the party but is ornery and full of snarky comments about the cake and present she receives.

Kate and Alex are also dealing with Abby's teen-age angst. Kate also feels guilt making profits on vintage furniture from estate sales and Alex has guilt issues from a recent fling with Mary.

Overall "Please Give" is profound, full of funny insights on guilt and imperfection.

"Please Give" comes from the writer/director of "Friends With Money", Nicole Holofcener and while that movie explored themes of being rich and how the wealth is spread around through charity and what they weren't willing to spend money on, this one goes a similar route. "Please Give" explores a series of people who either are in need or have the capacity to give something needed to others and figuring out if they are doing it for the good of the recipient or just to ease their own selfish guilt/pity/sorrow. Most specifically, two granddaughters deal with their rude aging grandmother while her next-door neighbors who have purchased her apartment are technically waiting for her to pass away so they can renovate and the guilt of swooping in afterward begins to get to some of them.

Rebecca Hall plays Rebecca and seems to be the only faultless character of the cast. She works in mammography and tends to her 91 year old grandmother on a daily basis along with caring for her dog and cleaning her apartment. Rebecca is shy and only seems to work for others and takes no time for herself and wants to be the peacekeeper always. The intimacy of her job takes so much out of her that she clams up and stays reserved around others until one patient's son takes a special interest.

Rebecca's sister, Mary played by Amanda Peet puts so much emphasis on her own surface value that she never develops much beneath it. Mary is rude to her grandmother on the excuse that the old woman is mean. Mary seems directionless except for maintaining her tan and trying to find out what is so special about the woman her ex left her for and trying to tear her down to make herself feel better. Amanda Peet is scary talented at being cold and beautiful. Her logic for her behavior toward her grandmother only foreshadows how she herself will be treated in old age since she seems to be on the fast track to that bitterness.

Catherine Keener's character, Kate appears to carry the weight of the suffering of the world on her shoulders. She feels so much guilt, pity, and grief when confronted with death and misfortune that the only way to quell some of that is to give back with money to homeless people on the street and others that she mistakenly assumes to be just for standing around outside bundled up. Kate attempts to volunteer her time for the less fortunate, but the emotion is too much to handle it. She is in a business of buying and reselling antique furniture, but feels so badly for the people whom she buys from that it begins to affect her reasoning and business sense.

Catherine's husband, Alex is played by Oliver Platt sees no problem with the business they run together as he views it unemotionally (It's not personal, it's business) and even gives Kate an out that she can go do other things if she wants and can't handle it here. He is exasperated with her wishy-washyness and stubborn purchase of occasionally worthless pieces because she felt bad for someone. They work well together as partners, but this added stress makes him seek out an escape. He only has a minor role to play in the course of the film as with Holofcener's other films, this one focuses on women, their viewpoint, and their relationships with others.

Their daughter, Abby played by Sarah Steele has her own issues with being a teenager with bad skin and wants to ally herself with beautiful Mary and embrace her ideals. All she yearns for throughout the movie is a pair of $235 jeans and the way she blows up at her mother when they go shopping or walk down the street is cringe-inducing and sadly accurate to high school mood swings. Abby goes so far as to snatch a bill out of the hand of a street person Kate just donated to under the objection that her mother worries more about perfect strangers than the needs of her own family. Uh...That is an interesting discussion point.

Each character goes on a journey and ends in a different place than where they started, but as far as commentary on the subject of charity and giving, it seems we are being left up to our own discussions without a direct moral message for the audience. I was left with mixed feelings about the film and felt it lacked the focus to really drive home the objective.

Perhaps it's somewhat unfair to review a film that one gives up on after only an hour; if the film redeems itself in its final minutes, I would not know. But the fact that I did give up on it after an hour is itself indicative; of the dozens upon dozens of films that I watched over the last couple of years, this is one of only two that I simply could not continue to the end. Every minute of watching was unpleasant, and it felt more like torture than anything else.

After abandoning the effort, I felt like sending a telegram to every director and studio in the US: PLEASE STOP MAKING FILMS LIKE THIS. Enough with the dysfunctional families. Enough with the wry, presumably ironic but painfully unfunny dialogue. Even with the narcissism and lack of self-awareness. Enough with the self-congratulatory post-film discussion about how this is "reality" and "honesty." (On a personal note, I like challenging, often disturbing films, and have no desire to see an antiseptic treatment of American family life; but this film and others like it do NOT represent my reality. If I had to live among people like this, I would hang myself.)

The "plot," such as it is, involves characters played by Catherine Keener and Oliver Platt, a married couple who buy up future left behind by the recently deceased, mark up the prices dramatically and re-sell it; they also have plans to buy up the apartment space of a yet-to-be-deceased person. On the surface, they seem like decent, charitable people, but there is an undercurrent of moral concern about the vulture-like nature of the way they make their living.

The film spends most of its first hour smacking you over the head with the central contradiction of the Catharine Keener character. In the abstract, she wants to be compassionate and charitable -- she is constantly handing out food and money to the homeless, she is searching for volunteer opportunities. She has a highly developed social conscience. But on a personal level, she could hardly be less considerate and compassionate. She shows almost no empathy for her daughter's problems, and she incessantly says really inconsiderate things to offend other people, only catching herself after the fact. The film really beats this into the ground; she has opportunities for compassion all around her, but she neglects them, in pursuit of the self-affirmation of charity towards faceless strangers. You basically want to scream at the film: "OK, I get it, I get it. Let up on this point!"

The other notable aspect of the film is that everyone sits around saying the most rude, self-centered, obnoxious things, all in the same low-voiced monotone. It's not interesting; it's not funny. Keener and Platt's neighbors are "caring" for a 91-year-old grandmother on the brink of death. The two girls are constantly bickering, and one in particular keeps saying horrible, insensitive things in front of Grandma, who returns the suspicion and contempt in kind. A bit of this here and there would be tolerable -- but the entire first hour of the film is wasted on similarly horrid dialogue. There are occasional attempts at humor (mostly by bringing up previously-introduced subjects again and again) but they fall flat. Basically, the film consists of people saying insensitive things in front of each other in scene after scene.

After an hour of this, one can't help but feel: what the hell is the point? Nothing really happens, the moral contradiction of the Keener character is beaten into the ground, and all that one can feel is disgust at the shallow, unfeeling narcissim of the characters, and irritation at the cynicism of the film itself. Nothing really interrupts the relentless torment of the viewer.

No, this is not insightful, it's not entertaining, it's not amusing, it's not involving. It seems to be all in the service of an allegedly iconoclastic take on American life.

All in all, one of the four worst films I have seen in the last five years.

Out of all movie genres, the one I head to first is the independent comedy drama. If it's that kind that also follows a group of characters in interwoven stories, even better. Please Give had Catherine Keener and Oliver Platt, two people who are often in films that I like. So, this movie had lots going for it. In theory. But if I hadn't looked up the writer/director (Nicole Holofcener) in IMDB, I would have thought this film was her first film. Yet, she also did Friends With Money, which I don't remember being so frustrated by. (Don't really remember it much at all, but at least it didn't leave me with a hugely negative memory.)

Please Give just seemed off. For a while, I was trying to figure out the point of scenes. It was like Holofcener took some pre-existing film template and pasted scenes over the template at the appropriate places, yet, did not have the content, point, or continuity through scenes you need to have a story that is worth making. So we have some fairly well-to-do people who make a living by buying furniture from the children of recently deceased elderly people and selling it to other well-to-do people who don't mind paying exorbitant prices for, say, 60's kitsch. Keener's character is beginning to have angst over this state of affairs and Platt's character tells her to get out of the business then. Okay, this is a decent enough setup, but it is not developed at a professional level. It is as if Holofcener believes that ANY 90 minutes of film strung together in scenes that cut between characters qualifies as a movie. But it just ain't so. The scenes themselves need to be interesting and/or funny or SOMETHING and they need to lead somewhere. If I want a story that has very little point I could film my family from, say, 6:15 p.m. to 6:20 p.m., go over to my neighbor's family and film them from 6:20-6:25, and do this with three of my neighbors over a few days until I have 90 minutes of film and then just end the movie. Please Give accomplishes almost this little. Holofcener had SOME kind of idea, something about the angst some people with money have, but she just didn't know how to make it add up to something.

All of the actors do a decent enough job, it's just that they really got sucked into a project that wasn't quite ready for prime time.
Also starring: A likable Rebecca Hall, sneaky Amanda Peet, cute Sarah Steele, unusual Thomas Ian Nicholas, and effective Lois Smith.

2 stars

Funny, insightful, poignant & terrifically well acted, this is a real slice of NYC life. Several slices actually, but as delicious as the best Katz's delicatessen pastrami.

There are people who won't be reached by the depth of humor & humanity in this film because their expectations of how life *should be* will not be satisfied. Too bad, their loss.

Bravo to Nicole Holofcener for being an honest film maker & a brilliant artist.

Nicole Holofcener manages to put out another nice film featuring complicated women...well at least to me. She clearly has a gift for the female take on life. The movie is wonderfully acted with the always good Catherine Keener as Kate who has successful business reselling furniture they purchase from the heirs of the departed. She feels guilty and looks for some charitable work. She and her husband Alex (Oliver Platt) have their eyes on their elderly neighbor's rent controlled apartment. The additional cast features Rebecca Hall and Amanda Peet as the neighbor's grandchildren. The film is straight forward and honest. It doesn't throw in diversions (well, one) and tricks. It's just a character study of 3 generations of New Yorkers. While the film is dramatic in part and not laugh-out-loud funny, you will smile throughout most of the film and perhaps well-up in others. Well done.

This movie is a base, rambling heap of garbage. It's incoherent, has no real conflict, and I simply can't understand why so many people give it good reviews. It's somewhat visually pleasing until Oliver Platt waddles on-screen to add a sub-plot that truly boggles the mind (really? he's going to get both Catherine Keener and Amanda Peet?!)

The characters are uninteresting and I can't seem to find a real motivation behind any of their actions. Nothing is resolved except the little girl gets an expensive pair of jeans at the end of the movie.

"Please Give" is an insightful multi-character comedy/drama set in the bohemian section of The Big Apple.

Kate (Catherine Keener) and Alex (Oliver Platt) are a married couple who run an antique furniture business, buying pieces from recently deceased elderly people, then re-selling them at exorbitant prices. Kate assuages her guilt over this by handing out money to every panhandler she encounters on the street and by scouring the internet for volunteer opportunities posted on-line. But she still feels like a "ghoul,' waiting for old people to die, then swooping in on their belongings before the body has even had time to turn cold. Meanwhile her husband and business partner, Alex, suffering from a midlife crisis, becomes romantically involved with Mary (Amanda Peet), a beautiful young but coldhearted cosmetologist, whose cranky and cantankerous grandmother (delightfully played by Ann Guilbert, Millie from "The Dick Van Dyke Show") lives right next door to Kate and Alex, who, in true "ghoul" fashion, are planning on buying her place when she dies in order to increase the square footage of their own residence. The remaining characters include Mary's good-hearted sister, Rebecca (Rebecca Hall), a mammogram technician with a nonexistent love life; Eugene (Thomas Ian Nicholas), her wannabe boyfriend; and Eugene's grandmother (Lois Smith from "Twister"), who's more concerned with playing matchmaker for her grandson than with her own cancer diagnosis.

Together, these characters form an interesting and colorful tapestry for an urban tale about people who often question their own goodness but who are often reluctant to rectify the behavior that is causing the problem. And there are those, like Mary and her grandmother, who seem almost completely immune to pangs of conscience or to any kind of moral self-reflection at all and see others as existing largely for their own benefit.

Yet, all this makes the movie sound far more preachy, scolding and emotionally downbeat than it actually is. In reality, the screenplay by Nicole Holofcner mines rich veins of humor from the quirky nature of the characters and the situations in which they find themselves, and the beautifully calibrated performances, along with Holofcner's subtle and thoughtful direction, greatly enrich the material.