Nicole Holofcener and Catherine Keener mark their fourth collaboration* with "Please Give", showing the contrasts in a New York couple's life. Kate (Keener) and Alex (Oliver Platt) run a furniture shop selling objects that they have collected at estate sales. In the apartment next to theirs, elderly Andra (Ann Guilbert, better known as Millie on "The Dick Van Dyke Show") has moved in with her granddaughters, the benevolent Rebecca (Rebecca Hall) and the mean-spirited Mary (Amanda Peet). As Kate, Alex, and their daughter Abby (Sarah Steele) get to know Andra, Rebecca and Mary, Kate begins to have doubts about how her own family lives its life. Kate always makes an effort to give money to the homeless, while Sarah doesn't seem to appreciate everything that she has.
The movie does a great job with character development. From the start, we immediately know that Andra always says exactly what she thinks, and that Mary doesn't have a care in the world. Specifically, there's the dichotomy in Kate's attitude towards things: she does everything possible to be a good Samaritan, but eagerly awaits Andra's passing. Is Kate really the person who she sees herself as? All in all, I highly recommend "Please Give". It just might help you realize your own flaws. Also starring Kevin Corrigan and Thomas Ian Nichols.
*I actually haven't seen any of Holofcener's other movies. I guess that I'll have to.