A Study of Guilt

Please Give (2010) - dir. Nicole Holofcener - 3 stars

It's been a while since I saw Friends with Money (2006), the film that introduced me to the Holofcener name.  I hadn't realized until then that I had already seen her work before, alas on TV.  She had directed many episodes, some for Sex and the City and Six Feet Under, but it was with her 2006 film that I came to connect the dots between her TV and film work. Her focus on female protagonists, wry humour, money and generosity coupled with her fascination with actress Catherine Keener all resurface with Please Give.


Kate (Keener) and her husband own a vintage furniture shop in NYC, where most of their stock comes from families trying to get rid of furniture owned by their passed-away relatives. They are embroiled in the quest to make big profits, as they enjoy the thrill of the thought of money. While their teenage daughter gets further obsessed with her looks and skin, they continuously make plans to expand their apartment, which depends on the old tenant dying.  Andra, the old tenant, is taken care of by two sisters, one of whom is devoted, shy and introverted whereas the other is self-centered, shallow and mean.  All characters in the ensemble suffer from some sort of guilt, and as such Holofcener is able to show guilt and how we deal with it in its many shapes and forms.  Some try to counter it by forcing themselves to be charitable while others keep their guilt at bay by ignoring it or even drowning themselves in it. 


The film's intricate story connects these characters in a higher emotional level than any of them expect. Sense of resolution is abound throughout the last 20 minutes of the film. This, in a way, dispels the plausible atmosphere created all along as it feels a bit too good to have everything come full circle at the end, but then I've gotten very used to expecting films to drop me off a cliff so take it with a grain of salt.  All things considered, Friends with Money also ended in a similar fashion so it says more about Holofcener's storytelling habits than anything else.


Holofcener is rather good at developing her scripts and keeping a nice pace throughout her films, despite several approaches that harken back to her TV work. The film mostly consists of short scenes and punch lines, which feel episodic, but they also add a sense of realism as if we're watching reality TV.  Her characters tend to understand themselves at the end and accept what they need to do to change. This sense of self-realization is very central to Holofcener's scripts and provides very low-key, quiet moments of epiphany.


Unfortunately, this results in a low-key feeling at the end of the film as well. Holofceners' films never engross the viewer in deep emotion. At the most, she tickles our feelings and makes a dash for resolution.  So, even though the film is rather good, it makes you feel a bit underwhelmed at the end.