The Gift-2015

The Gift-2015

Director-Joel Edgerton

Starring-Jason Bateman, Joel Edgerton

Scott’s Review #264

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Reviewed August 9, 2015

Grade: A-

The Gift is a throwback to the type of psychological thriller made famous by Fatal Attraction in 1987 and similar films throughout their heyday into the 1990s.

An unstable psycho threatens a happy couple.

Interestingly, The Gift is similar in genre to a film released earlier in 2015- The Boy Next Door- though The Gift is worlds superior to that film and contains surprises, frights, and twists and turns that I pleasantly did not see coming. The film is not predictable which is refreshing in this particular genre.

Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall star as Simon and Robyn, a successful young couple who have relocated from Chicago to sunny California, near Simon’s childhood hometown, to begin a new life with the intent of starting a family.

They soon run into a man named Gordo, played by actor/director Joel Edgerton, a high school chum of Simon’s from twenty years ago whom Simon barely remembers. Simon and Gordo plan to re-connect over dinner, but the audience can sense that something is not right with Gordo.

As Simon, Gordo and Robyn get to know each other again, Gordo begins leaving pleasant little gifts on Simon and Robyn’s doorstep as well as showing up at their house unannounced, which is particularly unnerving to Robyn as she is home alone all day long with Simon consumed with his new career and possible promotion.

To make matters more interesting, their home is located in a remote area with lots of seclusions.

The film soon reveals that in high school Gordo was nicknamed “Gordo the Weirdo” and that an incident involving Gordo occurred, though nobody seems to remember the exact circumstances or perhaps they choose not to remember?

The vagueness of this situation is appealing because the audience is sure that these circumstances will be revealed later on in the story and play a large part in the climax of the film, which it certainly does.

We also learn that another incident took place with Robyn in Chicago and that she suffered a miscarriage. She does not drink and avoids pills. Could she be unstable or imagining things or just overly cautious? It is revealed that she does not handle stress well.

A wonderful aspect of The Gift is its surprise factor. As the plot twists and turns, I found myself changing allegiances and wondering who the villain is? Gordo? Simon? Robyn?

Edgerton (along with a great acting performance) compellingly directs the film and was undoubtedly influenced by Alfred Hitchcock in his style of moviemaking.

The camera angles and score are particularly excellent in establishing the correct level of tension at just the right moment. In more than a few scenes the audience knows something will jump out at the screen, so there is anticipation, but when and how it will happen is a surprise.

Many scenes take place when Robyn is alone- during the day thank goodness- and she hears a noise, or notices the water running. These scenes are traditional fare in horror or the thriller genre but are so well done in The Gift.

A perfect thrill ride.

Simon is an interesting character. Sophisticated, educated, and with a high-level executive job, he has a strange fear of monkeys stemming from childhood.

The past is a common theme of the film- past events encase the three lead characters leading to conflict and ultimately these events come back to haunt them. Most of Simon’s friends are unlikable and appear to be interested in style over substance. They seem to be drawn to Simon more for his success than because they care about him.

This contradicts his wife’s character- Robyn is down-to-earth, kind, and does not place as much stock in wealth and achievements as she does with personality and being a kind individual. She and Simon bicker and disagree about Gordo and as events unfold this conflict only increases.

It is not often in films anymore that one is truly frightened and “jumps out of your seat”, but two intense scenes in the film- one involving a dog, and the other a shower, made me jump, and the hairs on my arm stand on end. Everyone in the audience gasped together.

Now that is fun!

The only negatives I perceived in The Gift are some continuity issues as well as the suspension of disbelief in some scenes. Without giving anything away, how is Gordo able to perfectly do some things he can do?

A good old-fashioned thriller with excellent acting, compelling characters, and a wonderful debut for Edgerton in the director’s chair.

The film will leave the viewer pondering moral questions, and relating to each of the three main characters in different ways.

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