With a reported budget of around 10 million, The Gift is obviously a labor of love for those involved. Unfortunately, the A-list cast can't prevent the movie from becoming a by-the-numbers whodunit with an ending that's all but unsatisfactory.
With a reported budget of around 10 million, The Gift is obviously a labor of love for those involved. Unfortunately, the A-list cast can't prevent the movie from becoming a by-the-numbers whodunit with an ending that's all but unsatisfactory.
audience
56
liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 48,775
Supernatural horror meets character drama in this Sam Raimi-directed thriller. Set in Georgia, the film concerns a widowed mother named Annie (Cate Blanchett) who is blessed with the ability to have psychic visions. When Annie is asked to use her powers to investigate the murder of a rich society girl (Katie Holmes) who was engaged to a local high school principal (Greg Kinnear), she finds her "gift" is as destructive as it is helpful. Many of the townspeople have mixed regard for Annie's
abilities, including an abusive husband (Keanu Reeves) and his brutalized wife (Hilary Swank) (the former threatens Annie and her children with taunts that she is a devil) as well as a deeply troubled auto mechanic (Giovanni Ribisi) who may hold a key to the events in question. The Georgia residents soon find themselves all suspects in the investigation, and Annie is forced to confront past demons while still trying to help solve the mystery. The Gift was co-written by Billy Bob Thornton, who appeared in another of Raimi's thrillers, A Simple Plan. ~ Jason Clark, Rovi
There's really just one reason to see the Southern freak show that is Sam Raimi's The Gift, and fortunately it's the best reason: to watch the star of the piece.
A glorious textbook example of a gifted film maker's ability to transform a familiar genre and, thrillingly, to confound our expectations in the process.
It's like a play that's been 'opened up' for the screen, expanded and filmed on real locations but retaining all of the carefully worded stage dialogue. It never sounds 'real,' and I suppose that's the point.
Unfortunately, Raimi and Thornton -- who collaborated as director and star on the genuinely creepy A Simple Plan -- have only enough material this time to sustain half a movie.
Failing to deliver as a suspenser, The Gift relies heavily on its name cast, particularly Cate Blanchette, which elevates the old-fashioned yarn to a more serious patina.
A Supernatural Thriller with a convincing, natural performance by Cate Blanchett and a unique angle on a Murder investigation.There is something of an emotional commitment brought to the storyline by the characters in this film, which really comes across well on screen. All in all it is a decent (greatly underrated)
film, one that I have watched time and time again.
My second viewing of The Gift led me to realise how formulaic and structured the screenplay actually is. Yes it has some 'twists' and a guessing game as to who the killer is but there's no thrill in the chase. Jessica King is shown as a horrible woman who got what she deserved so there was no sympathy for her death
which led me to not care about who killed her. An interesting watch but kind of a waste of time.
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