Movie Review: Please Give

By Anne O'Connor, The Centre for Volunteering

Cast: Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Amanda Peet
Directed and written by: Nicola Holfcener
Running Time: 90mins
Rated: M

The two main characters in Nicole Holofcener's Please Give are the type of couple you almost expect to find sitting next to you in the cinema, choc top in hand, watching this film. After all, it is a story that gently criticises its own target audience and tackles the discontents of contemporary, middle-class society.

Manhattanites Alex (Oliver Platt) and Kate (Catherine Keener) earn a living buying old furniture from bereaved relatives then flogging the overpriced retro items to snotty urban hipsters who should know better. While Alex cheerily resigns himself to their good fortune, Kate feels guilty and constantly frets over the ethical aspect of their business practices. She attempts to salve her guilt with random acts of altruism by giving money to homeless people and making benevolent attempts at volunteering.

However, the real elephant in the room is Alex and Kate have bought the adjacent apartment to theirs but cannot expand until Andra (Ann Guilbert), the old grouch who lives there, scuffles off to a better place. Added to this emotional tangle of guilty desires are the old lady's two unlucky-in-love granddaughters. The sombre but decent radiologist, Rebecca (Rebecca Hall) who attends to her ninety-one year old grandmother with patience and grace, while her older sister Mary (Amanda Peet), the snappy, self-centred beautician is determined the old lady will not spoil her fun.

The film explores the nature of benevolence suggesting it is fuelled by guilt, even thought the characters try to pretend it is genuine and work to balance the contradictions in their lives. On the one hand Kate agonises over her responsibility to the urban poor and yet has insensitive flare-ups that alienate her daughter, Abby (Sarah Steele), a spunky teenager who is struggling with the usual adolescence dilemmas.

Volunteering is a conduit by which Kate attempts to appease her guilt, except it is not working for her. She is a rotten volunteer; self-conscious, cheerless and prone to outburst of incongruous tears. Her compassion may be well intentioned, but ultimately Kate's charity is self-serving and her attempts at volunteering contrived and a tad depressing. The last thing the so-called handicapped and incapacitated need is a volunteer like Kate.

There are few films that demonstrate, even in the most superficial way, what it entails to be a volunteer. Please Give, at least,shows us what it may be like to do something charitable without remuneration and draws attention to the worth and usefulness of good volunteers.

Please Give is available on DVD.