‘Please Give’ is a treat of a film- a gentle ride that rarely missteps, until its ending- and the only misstep in the ending is that the movie has to end. It very much resembles a Woody Allen film, except for the fact that it is sharper, more incisive, and funnier than Allen has been in a long time. Cathy (Catherine Keener) and Alex (Oliver Platt) live with their teenage daughter in an apartment building in New York. Wanting to expand their apartment, they bought the apartment of their elderly next door neighbor, Andra (Ann Morgan Guilbert). Now they are just waiting for her to die to get to work.
Andra- a hard and blunt woman- is cared for by her two granddaughters, Rebecca (Rebecca Hall) and Mary (Amanda Peet)- Rebecca being kind and patient, Mary bemoaning the fact that they’re stuck with this miserable old lady, with her unbelievably callous neighbors. Mary does have a point there- Alex and Cathy have a somewhat distasteful business. They arrive at the apartment of the recently deceased, buy their furniture and resell it for obscene prices. Alex is fine with this. Cathy, though, is absolutely guilt-ridden about this. She is also guilt-ridden over the fact that in order to live more comfortably, she put herself into the position of hoping her elderly neighbor will die.
Guilt defines Cathy- she gives money to every panhandler she sees, and tries to buy a clear a conscience. The film’s funniest moment is when, after leaving a restaurant, she offers the leftovers to a black man standing outside. The man responds by telling her that he waiting for a table in the restaurant. “He looked homeless!” Cathy tells Alex, to which he responds “He looked like a black man waiting for a table”. This small little scene shows a great wit and subtle touch that writer/director Nicole Holofcener brings to the film, poking fun at rich-white-liberal guilt.
The only time this film really falters is in when it tries to go for “A big scene” that tries to underline something. Holofcener needn’t have done that- this film is a pleasure, a sure handed look at these oh so relatable characters. It is wonderfully observed, and wonderfully acted. It would be futile to list all the good things in this movie- I enjoyed just about every minute of it , and was sad to see it end.
SHLOMO PORATH
