The Gift was a movie that snuck up on me. When I heard about it I didn’t really pay much attention to the news. However, when I saw the first trailer this film looked good and sparked my interest. This movie delivers and falls short at the same time.
This was Joel Edgerton’s directorial debut. He does a great job of shooting this film. He gets a wonderful performance out of all of his actors and actresses. Joel himself creeps you out the second he is on screen but at the same time, he just pulls you deeper and deeper into the story. The performance that Jason Bateman delivers is not one that I would have thought he was capable of. Bateman is a wonderful actor but I never pictured him playing a manipulative bully. He delivers in this role and demonstrates his wide range of skills. On the other hand, Rebecca Hall is the same character I have seen her play over and over again. It is a good performance but it is in her comfort zone and not showing much growth as an actress which I would like to see from her.
There is an assortment of information throughout the story that you receive about the characters which seems to be important but ends up having no purpose in the film. There are multiple instances where you desire more elaboration of the story and it never comes. The big reveal about the occurrences between Bateman’s and Edgerton’s characters is kind of a big letdown. The film leads you to believe that this is going to be a huge, scandalous, unforgiveable reveal but it just falls out and lays there.
The Gift has a few cheap jump scares, great performances but lacks a good story. Cinema Wise is giving The Gift 2.25 out of 5. I would wait for an evening at home and nothing on to give this one a watch but I would not go out seeking this movie.
This review brought you by Ryan.
Cinema Wise 