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Please see PLEASE GIVE (2010)

Posted by Daniel Metz

Dir. Nicole Holofcener
Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar, 6/12/10, 9:45

I am hard on the Summer months when maybe I shouldn’t be. Yes, it is the worst part of the year cinematically, with the possible exception of Spring. The saving grace of the March-to-May period is that the tiny independents that premiered during the Winter in New York or at film festivals make their way down to the rest of the country. By June, however, the bulk of this product is off the shelves, and what we’ve got left are the kind of movies that, put simply, bum me out.

But, there are some saving graces to this desert of cinema. Last summer, we had a number of good pictures come to Austin in the summer: The Girlfriend Experience, Julie & Julia, (500) Days of Summer, Away We Go, District 9, and Whatever Works were all much appreciated respites from the storm of last year’s Land of the Lost, Year One, Transformers 2, etc. The first such recess, this year’s The Girlfriend Experience if you will, was released this past weekend: Please Give.

Please Give is an excellent movie, the kind of thoughtful and insightful picture that Woody Allen used to (and still does) make. It’s subject, the lives of three and a half-generations of women in bourgie (yes, that is the right spelling) New York city, is an unusual one for the cinema, and one that pays off in spades; the characters in this picture are masterfully drawn and performed.

One major part of this equation is the stand-out performances by everyone involved. Ensemble cast members Catherine Keener, Amanda Peet, Rebecca Hall, Ann Morgan Guilbert, Sarah Steele, and Oliver Platt are real people, going through difficult times and sometimes making bad choices.

I find it hard to single people out for this film, but I must acknowledge first of all the work of Rebecca Hall: another reference to the king nebbish, as Hall was the Vicky in Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona. I’ve been a fan of Hall’s since I saw her in that picture. At the time, my assessment of the film was solely about her:

“All credit belongs to the girl playing Vicky, an actress named Rebecca Hall. The second to last scene of the film, where she gives in to her adulterous but overwhelming desire to be with the artist Bardem, is a great and true acting tour-de-force, one of the best moments in any Woody Allen film, up there with the opening of Manhattan and the play-ending of Annie Hall.”

Hall represents something that is really impressive: the modern girl next door. She is not the Sandra Bullock, Reese Witherspoon, or Kirsten Dunst-type, but instead something much more realistic and charmingly banal. Hall conjures up the spirit of actual women with her extra-fair (maybe even pale) skin and natural features. Her facial expressions and vocal patterns are highly controlled yet come off as unimpressive and effortless.

That is what makes the ending of Vicky Cristina Barcelona so great. When Hall is shivering and ultimately capitulates to Bardem’s Latin-Lover seduction, it is unbelievably believable. She is woman and female desire in that exchange, and I consider that scene to be one of the greatest in cinema, period, and it is 100% thanks to her (although I’m sure Woody’s marvelous direction had something to do with it).

In this film, Hall literally plays the girl next door to the couple of Keener and Platt, and she does it in a homely and humble style. Her skin here is almost pasty, and her clothing bland. Her character shines, however, with a twinkle that can only come from inner-spirit. She is truly a gem, and I hope she continues rising. She could be our next Meryl Streep.

As I said, everyone else is great. The women all stand out as unique and precious beings, including the confused teenager Sarah Steele and the lonely and flawed geriatric Ann Morgan Guilbert. Catherine Keener, as always is a dream, and I anticipate Austin Cinephile will someday give her a lifetime achievement award for most underrated actress. Here, she plays guilt so well it is a surprise she is a Gentile.

That gets me to the theme of this picture, Guilt. Every character in this film is wracked with it. The film is about how guilt is such an overwhelming concern in modern New York/life, from the transvestite bums on the sidewalk to the fear of breast cancer, from single-life to infidelity, and so many shades of gray in between. Never has this subject been dealt with so exhaustively on celluloid, nor done with so much bravery. It will make you reassess how you live your life and what factors influence your choices.

And finally, I must praise director Nicole Holofcener, whose work I am unfamiliar with thus far but I now want to seek out. She is a master of the contemplative two-shot medium close-up, framing couples, friends, relatives and acquaintances with judgment and reflection. Her mise-en-scène is terrific, especially in the various shots and set-ups of the boutique thrift store that Platt and Keener run. Her costuming and make-up is outstanding and convincingly realistic, too, in the same way as Hall’s performance.

I insist you see this picture, which is going to be probably the best film of June, although we’ll see how Cyrus holds up next week. In a month of Prince of Persias and Knight and Days, we should be thankful for these diamonds in the rough.

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