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Notes:
A good eye for furniture has served KATE and ALEX very well: their New York store, specializing in trendy mid-century modern design, is so successful that they‘ve been able to buy the apartment next door to their own. They plan to enlarge and remodel the space they share with their teenage daughter ABBY, but the next-door apartment is still inhabited by its former owner, elderly ANDRA. Before they can knock down any walls, they have to wait for Andra to vacate—that is, die.
Comedy - Like all of writer-director Nicole Holofcener's other films, this is
a talky indie comedy-drama centered around female characters. Fans
of the ensemble cast will have plenty to enjoy here. Adults,
especially women, into more unconventional independent fare are the
target audience. Adult themes and sexual content make the film
inappropriate for children.
PROFANITY: 9 F-words, 10 S-words, a few others. SEX/NUDITY: Non-sexual nudity; brief sex without nudity. VIOLENCE: None. DRUGS/ALCOHOL: Some alcohol. ACTION: None. COMEDY: Comic banter and wisecracks, often darkly humorous.
USA TodayFull Review Very Good Sometimes — and far too rarely — a film will hit all the right notes, with sharp, original dialogue, brilliant casting and an absorbing story. So caught up in its spell, you dread seeing the credits roll. Please Give is that movie.
Note: The rating
above is our interpretation of what the critic would give this movie based on
their review. We are not affiliated with these critic's in any way.
Kate (Catherine Keener) has a lot on her mind. There‘s the ethics problem of buying furniture on the cheap at estate sales and marking it up at her trendy Manhattan store (and how much markup can she get away with?). There‘s the materialism problem of not wanting her teenage daughter (Sarah Steele) to want the expensive things that Kate wants. There‘s the marriage problem of sharing a partnership in parenting, business, and life with her husband Alex (Oliver Platt) but sensing doubt nibbling at the foundations. And there‘s Kate‘s free-floating 21st century malaise—the problem of how to live well and be a good person when poverty, homelessness, and sadness are always right outside the door.
Plus, there‘s the neighbors: cranky, elderly Andra (Ann Guilbert) and the two granddaughters who look after her (Rebecca Hall and Amanda Peet). As Kate, Alex, and Abby interact with the people next door, with each other, and with their New York surroundings, a complex mix of animosity, friendship, deception, guilt, and love plays out with both sharp humor and pathos.
