6 more reviews

1. ›The Gift, a true gem of the genre@ismaca562d

   [Image](https://www.filmaffinity.com/ve/filmimages.php?movie_id=695678)

    

   The Gift, the deliciously tense 2000 psychological thriller that showcased the exceptional talent of director Sam Raimi and the captivating performance of Cate Blanchett.

   This film is a true gem of the genre, blending supernatural elements with a gripping character study that keeps audiences on their toes.

   The story follows the character of Annie, played to perfection by Cate Blanchett, a young widow and single mother living in a small southern town.

   Annie possesses the gift of psychic intuition, however, her abilities also make her an outcast in the community, as many view her ‘gift’ with suspicion and fear.

   When a young girl goes missing, Annie becomes involved in the investigation and uses her powers of clairvoyance to try to uncover the truth.

   This leads her to cross paths with the film's antagonist, a violent and unstable local played with chilling intensity by Keanu Reeves.

   [Image](https://www.filmaffinity.com/ve/filmimages.php?movie_id=695678)

    

   As the mystery unfolds, the narrative takes a series of thrilling and unexpected turns, blurring the boundaries between the supernatural and the all-too-human capacity for darkness.

   Raimi's assured direction heightens the suspense, masterfully interweaving moments of genuine terror with a deeper, more introspective exploration of the characters' emotional lives.

   Blanchett's performance as Annie is simply riveting: she endows the character with a captivating blend of vulnerability, strength and unsettling psychic awareness.

   The film's cast is equally impressive, with Giovanni Ribisi, Katie Holmes and Greg Kinnear all giving nuanced and layered performances that add further complexity to the narrative.

   [Image](https://www.c5n.com/ratingcero/la-pelicula-netflix-protagonizada-cate-blanchett-y-keanu-reeves-que-es-un-exito-n106392)

    

   Raimi's seamless blending of different plot arcs and character perspectives keeps the audience on edge, never knowing where the story will lead.

   Visually, The Gift is a triumph, with Raimi's signature style of stylised, gothic camerawork and lighting that lends a sinister, dreamlike quality to the film.

   Christopher Young's haunting score further reinforces the sense of unease and impending doom.

   While The Gift may not have achieved the same success as some of Raimi's most iconic horror films, it is a masterclass in suspense and character-driven genre filmmaking.

   The director's ability to balance supernatural suspense with deeper psychology makes it one of the best psychological thrillers.

   Cate Blanchett's captivating central performance, coupled with Raimi's precise and atmospheric direction, make The Gift a must-see film for any discerning fan of the genre. It is a gripping and highly entertaining cinematic experience that lingers in the mind long after the end credits have rolled.

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2. ›The Gift (2015) || Slow-burn But Still Delivers@teknon630d

   

   I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this film. I honestly thought it’d be another psychological thriller with a predictable plot and a few jump scares. But by the time the credits rolled, I realized this film had delivered far more than I’d anticipated. Directed, written by, and starring Joel Edgerton, this film is a slow-burn thriller that dives deep into the themes of guilt, trauma and revenge, all while keeping you glued to your seat with its unsettling atmosphere and unexpected twists.

   Synopsis (Spoilers)

   

   The film follows Simon (Jason Bateman) and his wife Robyn (Rebecca Hall), a couple who move to California for a fresh start. Things seem to be going well until they run into Gordo (Joel Edgerton), an old high school acquaintance of Simon’s. Gordo is a bit awkward and overly eager to reconnect and soon he starts showing up at their house unannounced, leaving mysterious gifts and generally being a little too friendly.

   While Robyn is initially sympathetic to Gordo’s gestures, Simon is uneasy about the situation. As the interactions become more uncomfortable, Simon decides to cut ties with Gordo. But that’s exactly when things start to spiral out of control. Secrets from Simon’s past emerge and it becomes clear that Gordo’s reappearance in their lives is far from being a mere coincidence. What starts as an awkward reunion turns into a disturbing game of psychological warfare, with Simon’s carefully constructed life unraveling in the most unexpected ways which I obviously didn't see coming.

   My Review and Rating

   The Gift thrives on its eerie tension. It’s not a film that relies on loud jump scares or dramatic action sequences to keep you engaged. Instead, it builds an atmosphere of quiet dread, where every glance, every pause and every seemingly innocent interaction feels like it’s loaded with hidden meaning. I give it to Joel Edgerton who does a fantastic job creating this slow, simmering suspense and as both the director and the actor playing Gordo, he makes sure the audience is never quite sure what’s coming next.

   

   What I loved most about the film is how it flips the script on the typical thriller narrative. At first, I thought Gordo was the obvious “villain”; the creepy, socially awkward guy who seems to be stalking the couple. But as the story progressed, it became clear that Simon wasn’t as innocent as he seemed.

   The film plays with your sympathies, making you question who the real antagonist is. By the end, the lines between victim and villain blur completely, leaving you with a chilling sense of moral ambiguity.

   

   Jason Bateman, who I've known for his comedic roles, really impressed me with his performance here. He plays Simon with just the right mix of charm and arrogance and as his dark past is revealed, his character’s moral downfall is both gripping and believable. Rebecca Hall’s portrayal of Robyn is equally strong. She’s vulnerable, but not weak, and her growing unease throughout the film feels palpable.

   

   Now, let’s talk about the real star of the show in my honest opinion, Gordo. He doesn’t have a lot of dialogue but his presence is so unsettling that every scene with him made my skin crawl. It's the first time I'm coming across his film but the way he conveys menace in this one, through subtle body language and quiet stares is a testament that he's good at what he does. Gordo is a character who’s been wronged, but rather than going for the obvious revenge, he chooses a path that’s much more psychological and far more disturbing.

   If I have to point out a flaw, it’s the pacing. It is a slow burn and while that kinda works to build tension, there are moments when it drags a little too much. Some scenes feel like they’re stretching the suspense too thin, and I found myself getting a bit restless at certain points. But honestly, this is a minor complaint in the grand scheme of things. Once the twists start coming, you’ll be too engrossed to care about the slow bits.

   

   Also, without giving too much away, I couldn’t help but feel that the ending, while shocking, leaves you with a bit of a moral dilemma. It’s one of those conclusions where you’re not sure if you’re satisfied or deeply disturbed. But then again, maybe that’s the whole point. The film challenges you to think about the consequences of past actions and whether or not anyone ever truly escapes their past.

   I figured this film was Joel Edgerton’s directorial debut. It is impressive, showing his ability to build tension and deliver gut-punching twists. The performances are top-notch and the story keeps you guessing until the very last frame. It’s a reminder that sometimes the most dangerous threats don’t come from the outside. They come from the skeletons hiding in our closets.

   Rating: 4/5

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3. ›Film Review: The Gift (2000)@drax1115d

   

   There is overpraise, there is a massive overpraise and there is the way protagonists of 2004 comedy Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle described their favourite film. The Gift, 2000 thriller directed by Sam Raimi, was due to relatively small, but for certain viewing demographic rather significant, detail was described as “opposite of Holocaust”.

   The plot takes place in Brixton, small town in Georgia where most citizens live on welfare. This isn’t enough for protagonist, widowed mother Annie Wilson (played by Cate Blanchett), to support her three sons, so she make ends meet as psychic. Although she inherited clairvoyance from her late grandmother, she rarely uses her gift and instead prefers giving common sense advice to her clients. She tells Valerie Barksdale (played by Hilary Swank) to leave her abusive husband Donnie (played by Keanu Reeves), after which he begins threatening Annie. In the meantime, Brixton is rattled with disappearance of Jessica King (played by Katie Holmes), daughter of Kenneth King (played by Chelcie Ross), the most powerful man in town, and fiancee of high school principal Wayne Collins (played by Greg Kinnear). After unsuccessful attempts to find her by conventional methods, Sheriff Pearl Johnson (played by J.K. Simmons) reluctantly seeks Annie’s help. She is at first unable to do, but her visions would gradually lead to shocking discovery that would put her own life in danger.

   The Gift, which combines conventional crime plot with supernatural elements, isn’t anything special or particularly original. Similar formula was used in many, usually low quality, episodes of The X-Files as well as Zemeckis’ What Lies Beneath. The script, co-written by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson, however, enhanced the formula by giving it specifically Southern flavour and making the film one of rare Hollywood depictions of rural, underdeveloped and impoverished parts of America. Sam Raimi, director who became famous for cult horror comedies, handles somewhat similar but widely different well and one of the scenes features extremely effective creation of suspense, worthy of best thrillers. He had very good and diverse cast at his disposal. Cate Blanchett again proves herself as an expert actress, playing the widow at US South with the same ease she has played Renaissance monarchs and Victorian ladies. Even Keanu Reeves, known for ruining number of films with his wooden acting, is here very good and effective in the role of the villain who is scary because he looks so ordinary. However, the most memorable role, at least if certain part of the male audience is concerned, belongs to Katie Holmes, actress who was, thanks to her role at Dawson’s Creek at the height of popularity and who here displays bare breasts in the scene that would leave such strong impression on protagonists on another film four years later. Despite somewhat overstuffed and partly overcomplicated plot and “whodunnit” mystery which is easy to solve even for more experienced viewers, The Gift still rises above average quality thanks to strong acting and stylish direction and, as such, can be recommended even to viewers who aren’t big fans of Katie Holmes.

   RATING: 6/10 (++)

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4. ›Фільм "Подарунок" ("The Gift"), 2015 р. Враження 🎞@occupy-mars1825d

   🎞 "Подарунок" ("The Gift") - австралійсько-американський трилер 2015-го року. У ролях: Джоел Еджертон, Джейсон Бейтман, Ребекка Голл, Еллісон Толман та інші.

   

   💬 За сюжетом, молода подружня пара переїжджає у будинок (як часто я починаю опис цим реченням 😁). І, звісно ж, вони хочуть дітей, та поки що не виходить. Якось вони зустрічають одного чоловіка - знайомого зі шкільних часів. Цей знайомий поклав перший раз їм вино під двері, як подарунок з переїздом. Потім він заскочив ніби-то проїздом мимо, щоб дати всілякі телефони, які можуть бути корисні. А наївна дружина запросила його на чай. Так цей чоловік ще кілька разів ніби-то мило і по-доброму заходив у гості, і запросив їх на вечерю. Але чоловіку - головному герою, не дуже подобалися часті візити цього приятеля, і він на тій вечері наважився йому про це сказати, мовляв, не приходь до нас більше. Старий новий друг був не у захваті від такого повороту подій, і написав якийсь лист, в якому перепрошував і натякнув щось про минуле. В цей час жінка вже була налякана і боялася бути вдома, погано спала. Вона почала задаватися питанням, про яке минуле мав на увазі той приятель, і захотіла дізнатися про щось у свого чоловіка, який нічого не розповідав... Отже, після того, як ці друзі ніби-то посварилися, почався такий-собі хвилюючий сюжет. Але фінал буде дещо закручений 😬 Але це вже подивитеся у фільмі.

   Трейлер (українською):

   ✅ Отже, я не скажу, що фільм - шедевр. Він дещо нудноватий і натискає на емоції слабенько. Але його цікаво подивитися.

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5. ›The Gift (2015): A different kind of Hollywood movie@netflixr1946d

   I wrote a few days back about how this was getting taken off of Netflix at the end of February but I just want to reiterate the greatness of this particular film that is getting removed and encourage you to see it before it is gone forever.

   [src](https://charlottesometimesgoestothemovies.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/thegift1.jpg?w=1000&h=601&crop=1)

   This was back in the time when Jason Bateman was just starting to make his run back to the forefront as far as his career is concerned. Prior to that we still admired him but for the most part he was a background performer and not the front of the line A-list actor that he is today. Director Joel Edgerton also stars in this movie and while he does a pretty decent job, his direction and the fact that he wrote this thing is far more impressive than his performance in the film is. I would say that in the background and behind the camera is probably where he shines the best because this film, which appears to be a cookie-cutter film that is easy to predict, actually really seriously turns on you at the end.

   src

   The entire film was made for under $5 million and this leads me to believe that Bateman must be pals with Edgerton in real life because these days it costs more than that just to get Bateman to be in something. Perhaps Bateman was starting to feel as though he was careening down a path of being typecast in comedies at that point and realized that he needed to diversify his acting portfolio and did it for that reason.

   Regardless of how it came together, this film is fantastic for one very good reason:

   It doesn't follow the typical Hollywood narrative

   src

   For about 60% of the film, The Gift appears as though it is doing precisely that: Taking us down the same path that so many films before have gone down but then as the story goes on it almost has a "Korean cinema" feel to it in that it convinces you that one thing is true, only to have it completely flipped on its head in the last 40% of the film.

   One thing that I absolutely hate about a majority of films that come out of Hollywood is the fact that if you have seen the trailer, you can basically guess what the end result is going to be. Or if you can't guess that, you can tell in the first 10 minutes of the film. It is just a question of how they are going to get there. This is true with all but one of the blockbuster super-hero films which I for the most part loathe (I recently watched Aquaman and that film is the epitome of Hollywood idiocy and money making.)

   [src](https://occ-0-1068-92.1.nflxso.net/dnm/api/v6/E8vDc_W8CLv7-yMQu8KMEC7Rrr8/AAAABWIxPsKUDWOwXqTAo9F_MpgNAOT_TXnZRcI9XeFds5Zo0lrmQOVIXqJWCG9aefy3TwFkWjuWPR1Xyz5cLrahDlkcHB3r.jpg?r=298) _{subtle shots of when we are at our most vulnerable is part of the majesty that this story takes on} The reason why I love Korean cinema so much is that you **have no idea** how it is going to pan out and you enter the film having no clue if the good guys or the baddies are going to win and sometimes the film actually makes you think a great deal about stuff that isn't even directly addressed in the movie itself. This is the reason why *Parasite* deserved to win Best Picture at the Oscars last year and is the reason why I encourage people to get into Korean or Japanese films as soon as possible.

   Hollywood has lost its way and is operating merely for profit. These other markets, realizing that they don't actually have much chance at a global audience, nor do they have 200 million to throw around on special effects, have to get a bit more creative with the story... This is precisely what Joel Edgerton does in The Gift.

   Should I watch it?

   Absolutely yes! and if you use Netflix exclusively for film options you have just a few days left to do so. There are of course other torrent methods of getting this film but I was surprised at how few of those options exist out there as well. I really wish that Hollywood would make edgy films like this on a more frequent basis but unfortunately they do not.

   

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6. ›The Gift (Film): Review.@martinmcfly2649d

   The following review makes reference to the 2015 film The Gift, and does not contain spoilers of any type.

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   (https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmYZ12K8a8E6jfEHPWwVgYTzUwmCZqXGTe4d1qSDFqYGYu/Image.png)

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   Year: 2015 Category: Psychological Thriller. Director: Joel Edgerton.
   Cast: Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, Joel Edgerton, Tim Griffin, Allison Tolman.

   

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   Plot

   The life of Simon and Robyn, a young couple who has just moved to a new home in California, begins to be uncomfortably disturbed when they begin receiving mysterious gifts from a former schoolmate.

   

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   Opinion

   Simon and Robyn try to forget the past and start over, since Robyn had problems with a pregnancy, so now that Simon's career is going well and will probably be promoted, they decide to move to a new house and then go shopping, where they meet Gordon "Gordo" Moseley, a former schoolmate of Simon.

   Soon Gordo begins to give gifts to Simon and Robyn, and then he visits the house when Simon is not there, he talks to Robyn and continues giving presents and being very helpful. The situation uncomfortable to Simon, but Robyn thinks that Gordo is being friendly, also believes that Simon is exaggerating the situation.

   The direction is very good, at the beginning is dedicated to follow the manual of the genre, the first 40 minutes are almost exclusively psychological thriller, and although the edition always remains and equal, the next 40 minutes become a drama, for finally return to the thriller but now lighter.

   Joel Edgerton is the great architect of this film, who is not only responsible for being the producer and directing in a great way, but also wrote the script with which I was very satisfied, because just when we think we knew what would happen, we are surprised. And then, it surprises us again. But it's not just about his great direction and great screenplay, but he also acted in the film, playing Gordon "Gordo" Moseley, and he does it very well. Just fantastic. The performances of Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall were very good too, especially Rebecca, because although I think Jason does it in a great way, I also have the impression that someone with other physical characteristics was better fitted with the description of the character than him interpret.

   I think it's a solid film, I did not expect much from it, and I was pleasantly surprised. At first I thought it was the classic manual film, but then it showed me that it is not like that.

   Although if I have to mention something negative, it is that I thought that the story is not very credible, but it is something purely fictional, because all events are presented in a very unlikely when you think about it.

   

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   Trailer

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   Score

   8/10

   Acceptable film, with a couple of twists that will surprise anyone. At the time of publishing this review the film is available in the Netflix catalog for the following countries: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, India, Italy, Japan and Mexico.

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