Writer / Director Nicole Holofcener’s Please Give begins with shots of numerous women’s breasts as they undertake mammograms. The reason being that one of the characters (Rebecca (Rebecca Hall)) works as a breast cancer radiology technician. It’s obviously not done in a sexual way, but it’s hardly a great way to start a film. I suppose you could say it’s a talking point, which might possibly had been the idea in the first place. The film itself is about Kate (Catherine Keener) and Alex (Oliver Platt), a couple who buy furniture from estate sales and the sell them at a profit at their furniture shop. They also live next door to the grandmother of Rebecca and Mary (Amanda Peet). The drama concerns a number of areas but it’s Keeners Kate that mostly resembles the lead role as she battles with her guilt concerning her job and struggles to maintain a bond with her husband and teenage daughter. There is a strong cast in this film but, with the exception of Rebecca, all the characters they play are pretty uninviting. This is problem for the film as do you really care about hypocrites, adulterers and narcissists? At least you can say the actors do their jobs well, as you really won’t like their characters. Script wise there really isn’t anything special going on here and Holofcener’s stale direction does little to bring it to life. Overall, this is a drama meant to make you think and reflect about your own life. To be fair it does do that at certain points. However, there’s a good chance it’ll also make you think about the money you've just wasted watching it.
The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Too shallow by far, but at least the acting stops it from being a complete disaster. Rating: 4/10.
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