Please Give + Q&A with Rebecca Hall
Dir. Nicole Holofcener. Cast: Rebecca Hall, Catherine Keener, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt
A film about modern life’s contradictions, good intentions and shaky moral bearings followed by a Q&A with Rebecca Hall.
Kate (Catherine Keener) has a lot on her mind. There‘s the ethics problem of buying furniture on the cheap at estate sales and marking it up at her trendy Manhattan store. And how much markup can she get away with? There‘s the materialism problem of not wanting her teenage daughter (Sarah Steele) to want the expensive things that Kate wants. There‘s the marriage problem of sharing a partnership in parenting, business and life with her husband Alex (Oliver Platt) but sensing doubt nibbling at the foundations. And, there‘s Kate‘s free-floating 21st century malaise — the problem of how to live well and be a good person when poverty, homelessness, and sadness are always right outside the door.
Plus, there‘s the neighbours: cranky, elderly Andrea and the two granddaughters who look after her (Rebecca Hall and Amanda Peet). As Kate, Alex and Abby interact with the people next door, with each other, and with their New York surroundings, a complex mix of animosity, friendship deception, guilt, and love plays out with both sharp humour and pathos.
An indie with real pedigree and smarts, Holofcener’s comedy of manners is well-observered and well worth watching. EMPIRE MAGAZINE
Plus a Q&A with Rebecca Hall who stars as Rebecca, a loving and devoted granddaughter at the centre of this human story about two families living in NYC.
Rebecca Hall
Having worked with many of the industry’s most honoured talent and treaded the boards in the world’s most respected theatres, Rebecca Hall has emerged as a leading talent, challenging herself with each new role.
Hall was seen in Woody Allen’s Vicky Christina Barcelona alongside Penelope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson and Javier Bardem. For her performance, Hall received Golden Globe, BAFTA Orange Rising Star and London Critic’s Circle performance and breakthrough nominations. Additional film credits include Ron Howard’s Frost/Nixon; Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige, Tom Vaughan’s Starter for Ten and Oliver Parker’s Dorian Gray.
Hall has spent much of 2009 on stage in The Bridge Project, a transatlantic company of actors performing classic works around the world, and was garnered critical commendation for her performances as Varya in The Cherry Orchard and Hermione in A Winter’s Tale. She has also received wide acclaim for her previous stage work including her performance as Rosalind in Peter Hall’s production of As You Like It, her performance as title role in Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Galilieo’s Daughter, and her West End debut in Mrs Warren’s Profession for which she won the Ian Charleson Award.