Please Give
2010 Directed by Nicole Holofcener
Synopsis
A family looking for some extra space gets drawn into a difficult relationship with the folks next door in this comedy drama from writer and director Nicole Holofcener. Kate and Alex are a couple living in New York City who run a successful store specializing in vintage furniture. With their teenage daughter, Abby, their apartment is starting to feel a bit small for the three of them; Kate and Alex own the unit next door to them, and they plan to knock out a wall and take over the space. However, Andra, their tenant, is an elderly woman with a poor disposition who doesn't seem eager to go anywhere soon, and it's occurred to Kate and Alex that they're probably going to have wait for her to die. Hoping to make the best of the situation, Kate tries to strike up a friendship with Andra and her fiercely protective granddaughter Rebecca, but Andra isn't especially interested in making new friends, and Rebecca's sister, Mary, isn't much easier to deal with.
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Intelligent comedy about guilt and its consequences. Fine screenplay empowers a talented cast. Similar in tone to The Kids Are All Right, but more accomplished with its thematic content. If you liked one, you’ll like the other.
When Rebecca Hall smiles, choirs sing and fireworks light up the sky. Therefore amazing restraint to keep her so glum for most of the film.
Ending is revolutionary. How our responsibilities to family far outweigh those towards strangers, however less fortunate they may be. It's a moment of growth, a realisation that to consume is not to sin.
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Among the many actor/director collaborations that are frequently seen these days, one that isn't mentioned too often is Catherine Keener and writer/director Nicole Holofcener. This is slightly strange, since of the four films that Holofcener has created so far, Keener has been a lead in all four of them. Please Give is their latest collaboration, which along with Keener stars Rebecca Hall, Amanda Peet and Oliver Platt. Here, Keener and Platt play husband and wife who own the apartment of a woman whose granddaughters are played by Peet and Hall. The foursome clashes and comes together in various different ways throughout the film, along with the daughter of Keener and Platt, played by Sarah Steele.
If you've seen any of…
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More filmmakers need to remember to employ the secret weapon that is Oliver Platt.
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Vergankelijkheid en Pietje de Dood die met zijn loden zeis achter het hoekje zit te wachten, het zijn niet meteen de thema's die je doorgaans in een door blockbusters volgepropte filmzomer consumeert. Maar sta ons toe om je alsnog de film 'Please give' van harte aan te raden. Nicole Holofcener tekende voor een sereen filmpje dat langzaam voorbij lijkt te kabbelen maar intussen stiekem weerhaakjes in je ziel prikt. Jazeker, het mag onder een loden zomerzon wel eens iets anders zijn dan vechtende robotten, kapseizende piraten en andere prefabcinema.
Centraal staan Kate (een immer fantastische Catherine Keener) en Alex (een verassend ingetogen Oliver Platt), een echtpaar uit New York dat huizen van oude mensen opkoopt om ze vervolgens door te…
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There is no real equivalent in the English language for the German noun "Schadenfreude" – a sense of joy at the misfortune of others. Please Give sheds some light on why that's the case: we prefer to pretend the emotion doesn't exist.
At the center of writer/director Nicole Holofcener's Please Give are Kate ( and Alex, married business partners who make a living reselling furniture they purchase "from the children of dead people." Kate has amassed quite a bit of guilt as a result of her means of survival, and the couple's decision to buy the apartment next door to theirs (owned by Andra [Ann Guilbert] a decrepit 91-year-old woman) doesn't help matters. Whenever she sees the woman's granddaughter, Rebecca… -
Please Give was yet another Filmspotting recommendation; granted, only one of the hosts really liked the film, but I figured I'd give it a shot. I was split throughout most of it, as there were parts I liked (mainly those with Rebecca Hall), but I really didn't empathize with any of the other characters. By the end though, I really enjoyed the film, and I felt like I was sucked in more to each character and the way the were portrayed. Please Give is a quirky little dramedy that hits its stride more often than not, so that was good enough for me to enjoy it.
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More filmmakers need to remember to employ the secret weapon that is Oliver Platt.
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At first I HATED the last scene and then realized so would've the main character at the beginning of the movie. Took her an hour and a half; me, I needed the night
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This had a little bit of charm, but it's missing a well developed/interesting climax.
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"Please Give" es uno de esos dramas que dependen enteramente en sus personajes y lo mejor es que nos presenta personajes muy memorables con los cuales simpatizamos. Las actuaciones son excelentes y naturales, en especial de Catherine Keener y Rebecca Hall, quienes crean estupendos retratos de mujeres complejas que buscan la felicidad y que de alguna manera crean un vinculo aun cuando sus vidas son muy diferentes.
"Please Give" esta muy bien dirigida por Nicole Holofcener, quien obviamente siente afecto por sus personajes y quien logra conmovernos en sus respectivos destinos emocionales. Sumamente recomendable. -
Intelligent comedy about guilt and its consequences. Fine screenplay empowers a talented cast. Similar in tone to The Kids Are All Right, but more accomplished with its thematic content. If you liked one, you’ll like the other.
When Rebecca Hall smiles, choirs sing and fireworks light up the sky. Therefore amazing restraint to keep her so glum for most of the film.
Ending is revolutionary. How our responsibilities to family far outweigh those towards strangers, however less fortunate they may be. It's a moment of growth, a realisation that to consume is not to sin.
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Decent movie with great performances from very good actors (Keener, Platt, Hall & Peet), newcomer Sarah Steele is great as well."