Please Give - B

A New York couple (Catherine Keener and Oliver Platt) buy old furniture from the recently deceased and sell it at their shop. Their 15 year old daughter is having a difficult time especially with self-esteem issues. They have purchased the apartment next to them from an old lady whose 2 granddaughters (Amanda Peet and Rebecca Hall) have very different outlooks on life and how to deal with others. All of their interactions together comprise the majority of this film - an honest, small slice of life with little ambition . . .

Keener is excellent as the co-owner who's starting to feel guilty for her success. The title mostly concerns her character's attempt to give back to the less fortunate (mostly through financial means). Hall's character works as a radiology technologist (the film opens with mammograms being taken from a variety of women - yikes) and gives back to others with security and emotion. The grandmother's character is obnoxious but she's supposed to be. If you've seen a few indie films, you won't be surprised as these flawed people try to relate to each other. It's more of a character study than a great story. The film doesn't try to achieve too much, but is very successful with what it tries to do - and is surprisingly touching at the end. B