GREENBERG- Youth is wasted on the youth.
- I’d take it further… I’d say life is wasted on… people.
Having recently left hospital after a nervous breakdown, Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller) goes to stay in his brother's rich family LA home whilst they are abroad. Reconnecting with old friends and lovers who have all moved on to middle-aged family life, he is flooded with the regrets and misfortunes from his youth. But when he strikes up an awkward relationship with Florence, his brother's young personal assistant, the two of them are given the chance to let go of the past and find a sense of belonging.
In a nut shell, 'Greenberg' is a film about embracing the life you didn’t plan. With great expectations after the success of 'The Squid and the Whale', director Noah Baumbauch delivers another delicate human drama with a rawness that reflects the painful journey of growing old. Although they are from different generations, the two main characters search for one thing: catharsis in a life overwhelmed with dissatisfaction. For Greenberg, he must overcome the disappointment of forgone opportunities. Whereas Florence must overcome the anxiety associated with the pressure to succeed.
Infused with painful comedy, the film is a brilliant portrayal of the 'ugly duckling', which I'm sure many people will relate to. At 40-something, Greenberg hasn't evolved into the person that society tells us to be. Left behind and alienated by family and friends, he exists in basic survival mode; a routine of cynicism and self-absorption that doesn't render him the most likable of characters. However, as the film unfolds, it is clear he wants what everyone wants; to feel connected with the world and accepted for who you are. Soppiness aside- Greenberg has plenty to offer in terms of character, craft and comedy- and it's great to see Ben Stiller in a different skin!
PLEASE GIVE
From director Nicole Holofcener (Lovely and Amazing, Friends With Money), 'Please Give' presents another strong cast of females to remind us that crises are not only for the middle-aged. From a well-off New Yorker family, Christine (Catherine Keener) is racked with the guilt of her profession, where she and her husband make a fortune through the buying and selling of dead people's furniture. In her quest to become a better person, Keener plays the queen of faux pas', unintentionally insulting every person she sees on the street by offering them money and food. Meanwhile, her husband acts on his roaming eye, starting an affair with a younger woman, and her daughter alienates herself from her neurotic mother as she struggles with a tidal wave of teenage woes.
As the family waits for their neighbour to die so that they can knock down the walls and expand, they feel compelled to connect with the miserly old woman and her grumpy granddaughters. True to life, these are fundamentally good people that have been moulded by a shallow society. Struggling to shake off the cynicism, suspicion and greed that gathers with age, they search for some sense of morality and human connection. Catherine Keener is terrific (as always) and the film is really enjoyable; nothing revolutionary, but a poignant way to wrap up my Berlinale feast!
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