Film Reviews

Please Give

• Rating:
• Director: Nicole Holofcener
• Starring: Rebecca Hall, Catherine Keener, Sarah Steele, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt
• Details: US/90mins 15A

An exceptional observational comedy/drama that plays wonderfully from its fully-formed characters, Please Give is a welcome return to form for writer and director Nicole Holofcener after the dire Friends with Money. Putting together a core cast that work with apparent effortlessness, this lovely film is proof that character driven cinema hasn't died a death, and a good script played by talented actors makes for fine watching - regardless of budget or marquee names. Having just sold her grandmother's apartment to her opportunistic but guilty-feeling neighbours (Catherine Kenner and Oliver Platt), Rebecca Hall's caring, introverted twenty-something New Yorker is living in the shadow of her more glamorous, abrasive sister, played by Amanda Peet. The two girls' lives become awkwardly intertwined with the aforementioned neighbours as they wait patiently for their grandmother to die, so they can extend their apartment. Dealing with their own problems, Keener's slightly neurotic mother-of-one becomes paranoid that their antique business is under scrutiny from those whom they have purchased goods from for far under their value. There's an ostensible profoundness in this seemingly slight tale, about different folk living in the Big Apple. As with a lot of ensembles of this sort, you expect certain characters to struggle because they're given less screentime, or depth. Not so here; Holofcener injects every single character with traits that make them both likeable and human, and gives us context for both. She doesn't skimp on the wit either, and the script is also deceptively sharp, offering astute observations through a storyline that manages to be socially relevant and immensely affecting. Most people have had to deal with a relative at the twilight of their life at some point, and although a sombre time, Holofcener and her excellent cast manage to find humour within it. The heart of the film is Hall's dutiful granddaughter. When we first meet her there's something a little off; socially uncomfortable. But as the film grows, you get to know her, see the selfless things that she does, and come to genuinely like her, making you feel a little guilty about judging her from the first few frames. Hall is really great, and when you count in the fact that she's actually English, and had an accent to master too, the performance boarders on downright brilliant. Peet is suitably bitchy as her sister, but she has her reasons, and a final scene between the two is extremely touching, giving clarity to everything that preceded it. Keener plays her self-aware ambulance chaser with a hint of naivety. She's has an inkling that what she's doing is wrong, so attempts to balance the karma by giving homeless people money instead of her daughter (a fine performance from Sarah Steele), who just wants a pair of jeans that fit. Platt offers up indifference and regret, in another strong performance in a film packed with them. The perfect antidote to blockbuster season, Please Give is the kind of character driven flick you thought they didn't make anymore. Well worth seeking out.

Review by Mike Sheridan