The Gift:
Successful couple Simon and Robyn move into a new home after trying to start fresh. However, quickly after doing so, Simon runs into an old high school acquaintance of his: Gordon, or "Gordo". While awkward, Gordo seems harmless and friendly so Robyn invites him to dinner. However, after Gordo continually shows up at their home uninvited, presenting various "gifts", and seeming to stalk them around town, Simon seems intent on exposing Gordo for the freak he sees him as to Robyn, who still thinks Gordo is just a nice guy. However, Robyn comes to realize that Gordo is hiding something from them, and that Simon may be hiding something, too, and that these two may be more than just old high school acquaintances.
Despite being marketed poorly as just a run-of-the-mill thriller, my interest was peaked after hearing good reviews and seeing that this was Joel Edgerton's directorial debut. While it's nothing genre-busting, The Gift is a surprisingly taut psychological thriller with some great performances. Edgerton himself is a star of the film, and delivers a complicated performance as Gordo. While he is technically an antagonist, the film slowly peels back the layers to reveal a pain-stricken and broken man who never really got the quality of life he deserved. Jason Bateman, following in the trend of Vince Vaughn and Adam Sandler, is a comedic actor who has recently been turning to more dramatic roles, and has actually shown he is better in dramas than he is in comedies. Now I actually like Jason Bateman in most stuff he's in, but much like Sandler and Vaughn, he pretty much plays himself in everything, even Arrested Development. Here, I had to remind myself at times that I was watching Jason Bateman, much like how in this past season of True Detective I had to remind myself I was watching Vince Vaughn. I won't give much away about his role, but he's surprising to say the least. Rebecca Hall, who hasn't been in too many movies of note since about 2013, has a definite comeback role in this as well. The supporting cast is made up of Tim Griffin, Allison Tolman, P.J. Byrne, Wendell Pierce, Katie Aselton, Busy Phillips, David Denman, and Beau Knapp, who all do fine jobs but aren't really given enough screen time to really leave an impression other than being recognizable faces, as the film is mainly told from the perspectives of the three leads.
The music is pretty standard, but the cinematography took me by surprise. The camera angles are smooth and slow-moving, and some of the ways they played with the background and focus were refreshing for a genre that so often forgets that part of the fun of a movie is using the visuals cleverly.
The Gift may not be much of a game changer, but it certainly knows how to build suspense and keep the audience guessing. It is one of the best films of the year that I've seen, as it defies expectations and does enough different to not get squandered down in mediocrity (something I think is a recurring theme throughout this year's releases). 7/10 stars.
Note: I'm altering the ratings system to "out of 10" from "out of 5", because I feel it's more accurate.
(Image: Wikipedia)
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