“Quirky,
amusing and a colourful
window on people-watching, Please
Give is a joy to watch as three families
go through a range of emotions while
facing up to the problems of being
human...” IN A NEW YORK APARTMENT BLOCK, antiques dealers Kate (Catherine Keener,
Oscar Nominee for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Capote
2005, and Oscar Nominee for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Being John
Malkovich 1999) and Alex (Oliver Platt: Frost/Nixon; The Bronx Is Burning)
live with their sulky and disrespectful daughter Abby (Sarah Steele: Spanglish;
The Lucky Ones).
Kate and Alex have bought the apartment next door to theirs, which is rented
to cantankerous and outspoken 90-year-old Andra (Ann Morgan Guilbert: Grumpier
Old Men; Sour Grapes), as they are looking to eventually extend their living
accommodation to ease the growing pressures on their marriage, their business
and their daughter's needs.
Andra and her two granddaughters, the kind and caring Rebecca (Rebecca Hall:
Vicky Christina Barcelona; The Prestige) and the seemingly cold-hearted
Mary (Amanda Peet: Syriana; The Whole Nine Yards), are suspicious of
Kate and Alex, who are already experiencing their own problems in their relationship
and are facing difficulties with their troubled daughter.
Kate is aware of her husband's complacency and at loggerheads with Abby, who
cannot see anything wrong in spending hundreds of pounds on clothes while her
mother gives generously to the homeless out on the street. Kate is having a
mid-life crisis and is also beginning to question the ethics of buying antiques
from the families of the recently-deceased to sell on for a handsome profit.
Rebecca, a radiology technician responsible for mammograms, is not having much
luck with romance and has found internet dating to be woefully disappointing.
But when she befriends one of her patients, the warm and optimistic Mrs Portman
(the lovely Lois Smith), things are about to change.
Mrs Portman, who has been diagnosed with cancer, is keen for Rebecca to date
her computer consultant grandson Eugene (Thomas Ian Nicholas), who is kind and
attentive towards his grandmother. Rebecca's sister Mary, a beautician, has
recently split from boyfriend Brian and has begun to stalk his new love (Rebecca
Budig), whom she continually criticises. But it is not long before she embarks
upon an affair that is as brief as it is unexpected.
Mary does not have a good relationship with her grandmother, whom she appears
to blame for the death of their mother from an overdose, and finds fault with
everything and everyone. But then Andra herself is not an easy person to please
and even the gentle Rebecca, who bends over backwards to help her grandmother,
isn't safe from the elderly lady's sharp tongue.
As Andra's 91st birthday approaches, Rebecca wants to do something special while
Mary is indifferent. But an invitation to have dinner at Kate and Alex's apartment
throws the two families together and resentments surface.
Since its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, Please Give
continues to captivate audiences with it's A-list ensemble cast. There are some
touching moments such as when Kate, in conflict with her own guilt, looks into
signing up for some voluntary work and is confronted by two Downs Syndrome youngsters
— a boy who encourages her to play basketball with him and tells her "You
try, you fail; You try, you fail. Try Again" and a girl who has the same name
as her daughter who shows concern when Kate becomes upset. And there is a poignant
image of an elderly lady who has died sitting in an antique chair that Kate
has bought.
Please Give candidly examines the challenges of life and death and benefits
from a terrific music score. The film also features: Elizabeth Keener as Cathy;
Elise Ivy as Marissa; Josh Pais as Adam; Mandy Olsen as Sales Girl; Regina Marie
Healy as Abby 2; and Jason Kingsley as Jason.
Associate Producer is Stefanie Azpiazu; Music Supervisor is Dana Dufine; Original
Music is by Marcelo Zarvos; Director of Photography is Yaron Orbach; Executive
Producer is Caroline Jaczko; Produced by Anthony Bregman; and Written and Directed
by Nicole Holofcener.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment places human nature under a microscope when
Nicole Holofcener's (Friends With Money; Lovely & Amazing) quirky and
light-hearted tale of human foibles Please Give debuts on DVD for £19.99
on 10 January 2011. Certificate: 15 | Running Time: 87 Minutes.
Special Features: Behind The Scenes of Please Give | Outtakes | Nicole
Holofcener Q&A Clips | Theatrical Trailer.
"Quirky, amusing and a colourful window on people-watching, Please Give
is a joy to watch" —
Maggie Woods, MotorBar
“Quirky,
amusing and a colourful