Director: Nicole Holofcener
I had the pleasure last night of viewing a scarcely seen film called Please Give, starring Rebecca Hall, who you might recognise from Woody Allen's middle class Spanish jaunt Vicky Christina Barcelona and Catherine Keener. The film is set in New York and revolves around Keener's character Kate, who with her husband Alex (played by Oliver Platt) and daughter Abby live in an apartment directly opposite the elderly grandmother of Rebecca Hall's character aptly named Rebecca. We learn early on that Kate has bought the apartment from the ailing grandmother for the purposes of expanding their own already large New York abode. This obviously causes tension between Kate's family and Rebecca as they are effectively waiting for her grandmother to die and the occasional interactions they have in their buildings lift are initially uncomfortable and awkward however one night Kate invites Rebecca, her grandmother and Rebecca's sister Mary (played very well by Amanda Peet) to dinner in celebration of their grandmothers birthday and the event provides an ice breaker where both parties get to know each other a little better.
During the birthday dinner Alex, smitten with Mary and her not so subtle tanning habits, begins to flirt with her and the film then explores the subject of extra marital affairs at middle age with younger women, a common affliction amongst many men of Alex's age who have been married for long periods of time.
It's hard to write too much about the plot as not much happens during the films length however you do feel as though you get a peek into middle class Manhattanite life and it's both hilarious and slightly depressing at the same time. The clear message of the film seems to be about the passage of time and the how the past can come back and haunt us in the present, demonstrated in the film by the 'vintage' furniture Alex and Kate acquire from deceased New Yorkers and then sell on at inflated prices. All of the pieces they sell have a story and in particular Kate seems to question the morality of such a practice. This coincides with her husband's affair and also the faltering relationship between her and her daughter, who is in the throws of adolescence and is staring to rebel against parental authority. The guilt of her business practices makes her consider working with various charities as a volunteer, which Kate is seriously inept at due to her inability to cope with the reality of what those she is trying to help have to live with. She is also semi addicted to giving money to homeless people, in one scene humorously mistaking a black man waiting for a table at a restaurant as homeless due to the way he's dressed. I didn't know whether the writer was trying to make a cynical point about middle class people engaging in charity as part of a mid-life crisis or whether it was being supportive.
Rebecca Hall's character didn't make much of an impression on me, she works her days at a breast cancer clinic, looks after her grandmother and is constantly going on internet dates in order to find a significant other but I didn't feel her character was very fleshed out. She is often out shined by her sister Mary, she is full of life, is witty\sassy and demands attention because of the way Amanda Peet plays her. Rebecca in contrast becomes part of the furniture, overly cynical and moping around the screen with such lethargy it's almost as though she has been spoon fed Xanax since birth.
Despite an unlike able lead the film is a recommended watch for anyone who is a fan of Woody Allen's New York based comedies, the script is sharp and funny while the majority of the actors perform well. Much of the comedic moments are supplied by Rebecca's grandmother and Amanda Peet's character, both sassy, no bullshit New Yorkers. The direction is competent for the subject matter and will remind many of a Sex and The City episode, mainly due to the fact that the director\writer also directed a few episodes of that show.
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