Movies can often leave us feeling entertained, uplifted, silly — but it's not every day that you find one that makes you think. Enter Please Give, the latest from director Nicole Holofcener (Friends With Money, Lovely and Amazing). In a world of films with paper-thin plots, Holofcener once again raises her discerning magnifying glass, examining age-old themes of conscience and societal responsibility in a way that feels fresh.
At the center of her story is Kate (Catherine Keener), the owner of a high-end resale furniture store in Manhattan. She makes her living by, as her husband Alex (Oliver Platt) puts it, getting unusual antiques from "the children of dead people" and marking them up for a lofty price. She tries to overcompensate for her actions by passing out twenties to the homeless taking residence on her street. It's a give-and-take driven by her guilt that it drives her family crazy, especially teenage daughter Abby (Sarah Steele). Kate is complicated, flawed and often irritating, but for the audience her moral dilemma feels all too relatable — and it's pretty comical, too.
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