The Gift

Maybe i'm wrong but it's the first movie i watch with a lot of big names and that ends up really good : Hillary, Keanu, Katie, Cate, Kinnear and Ribisi really push their original characters and thus the movie never lost quality. In addition, we have Sam's team on the board as well with « aunt May », « JJJ », « sheriff Lucas Buck » and the famous yellow Oldsmobile. It's a pity that we don't have the usual cameos of Sam himself, his brother or Campbell ! It's also a great thing to find a story in a small town, with « ordinary » people having simple life as ours. I expected Sam to be more dynamic and on the contrary, the movie is as quiet as lying water. But as the main hero isn't Darkman or Spiderman but a widower mother of three boys, he was inspired to choose this pace: it really fits the Cate's compassion and maternal instinct, all the more than as told in the movie, she is really the heart of the town ! And for sure this wild nature with swamps and torn trees are as much frightening as any other supernatural monsters !

Jessica King (Katie Holmes), the fiancée of Wayne Collins (Greg Kinnear), has gone missing. Annabelle Wilson (Cate Blanchett) is the local psychic who has visions of Jessica King. Following her advise, Sheriff Pearl Johnson (J.K. Simmons) dredges the swamp and finds Jessica's body. Donnie Barksdale (Keanu Reeves) is jailed for the murder. However, Annabelle keeps getting visions. There's more to the murder.

Director Sam Raimi has teamed up with Billy Bob Thornton once again and this time as a writer. Cate Blanchett is terrific. There is an overload of big time actors. I almost wish that some of the lesser roles get played by smaller unknown actors. When it's overloaded like this, the movie can feel very Hollywood. However Blanchett never once feels fake in any way. She becomes the character with ease.

'The Gift' is an understated, underrated thriller which succeeds in captivating one's attentions from beginning to end. The film's main strengths are its screenplay, its beautiful mise-en-scene, a strong ensemble cast and a haunting soundtrack (those of you who enjoyed 'The Shipping News' will recognise the composer from the lilting score of that film)

But perhaps 'The Gift's' main attribute is the presence of the wonderful Cate Blanchett. Although I loved the film, I was forced to wonder if in the hands of a less capable actress, whether it would have had the same captivating power. Somehow I think not. Cate Blanchett's restrained portrayal of Annie exudes compassion and tenderness, and is integral to the success of the film as a whole. Her sensitivity as an actress is important in relation to the subject matter - ESP and the occult - as these areas generally attract much scepticism. Blanchett, through her unique skill as an actress, manages to make the more fantastical elements of the story not only plausible, but intensely moving. She is luminous to watch, reminding me of the (also magnificent) Meryl Streep in terms of her quiet beauty, her range of expression and her adept skill at accent mimicry. Who could believe that she is Australian?

In short, 'The Gift' is well worth seeing, primarily for Cate Blanchett, but also for the supporting actors Keanu Reeves (very impressive and effective) Hilary Swank (underused) and the magnificent Giovanni Ribisi - who is both explosive and reticent as Buddy Cole. Also demanding attention is the imaginative screenplay, and the hauting beauty of the mise-en-scene which manages to be both beautiful and eerie at the same time. Overall, 'The Gift' is a resounding success, due mainly to the heart of the film - Cate Blanchett's resonant performance. The actress has a unique gift herself, which richly deserves to be seen by many.

Sam Raimi has a bit of folklore to him, at least in t horror movie circles. His story with Evil Dead is one that tells us that if you really believe in what you are doing and have an undeniable passion for it, you can succeed with an indie. Evil Dead was that film for Raimi. Now that he has bigger budgets and better casts, one could expect him to fail, but with terrific films like A Simple Plan and now this one, he proves that he does possess a gift as a film maker. The Gift takes him back to his roots as a horror director and he doesn't disappoint. The Gift is a tight, tense film with some questionable weakly written court room scenes, but take that away and you have a very effective thriller.

The Gift has an all star ensemble cast that takes everything they are given and shines with it. Cate Blanchet is awesome to watch as the small town clairvoyant that some people look upon with utter reverance and others disregard as nothing more than a Satan worshipper. Keanu Reeves is very effective as a wife abusing husband and Hilary Swank, Katie Holmes, Greg Kinnear, Giovanni Ribisi and Gary Cole are all very good in their roles. I especially liked Reeves as the wicked wife beater. I grew to hate his character and not just because he was a wife beater, but because he was such a smug, "I'm above the law" wife beater. I like seeing the smaller and perhaps more challenging roles Reeves is taking in between his billion dollar turn as Neo.

When a local town aristocratic beauty disappears, all fingers point towards Reeves as the murderer. He was having an affair with the girl, he has a violent temper, and he has scratch marks all over him from her and most importantly she was found dead in his swamp on his property. That is pretty compelling evidence against him. Also, Annie, the clairvoyant had visions about her whereabouts being located on his property. But soon after his impending incarceration, Annie begins to have other thoughts. She thinks the wrong man has been put away and now she fears that the real killer is going to come after her.

What The Gift benefits from, besides great performances, is tight direction. Raimi shows us here why it is that he got his start as a horror director. There are at least half a dozen scenes that are tense and frightening. When Annie is having her visions of death and sees dead women in trees and in bathtubs and such, there are collective gasps of fear in the audience. And when she is visited by ghosts or visions of people, you feel the heart race a little faster. This is not to say that the film is flawless because it's not. The flaws come from the writing of the court case where there is so much heresay and such that any good lawyer would have jumped all over the defense's case. When a man is being tried for murder and your defense is questioning how you came to know where the body was, they are two different issues. Why does it matter if an elephant told you where the body was or if you happened to fish it out of the pond with a crane. The point is that the body was there and it was on the accused's property and the accused had scratch marks on his arm from the deceased. That in my book is a pretty simple case. I was disappointed with how Thorton wrote the court room scenes but that is about all I was disappointed with.

The Gift is not one of the best horror films I've ever seen, but it is an enjoyable one and if I had to compare it to another similar one to it, I would have to say that this was better than What Lies Beneath. I think Zemekis is a great director but Raimi just has that certain intangible quality about him. He can make suspense out of something when perhaps there is none there. This is worth seeing and if you are a horror fan or just like a few thrills in your film, this'll keep you entertained.

8 out of 10- a good creepy horror film with a few genuine scares and a plethora of great performances.

Having seen this film several times and never remembering the composer of the score, I decided to look it up at IMDb. While here, I decided to check out the various user reviews. And I was kind of surprised at the "love it or hate it" division.

I'm mainly surprised that anyone thought it was "typical" Hollywood pap or that it was slow moving, labored or simply so-so.

Maybe you just have to like Sam Raimi to enjoy this. I couldn't help but appreciate the fact the style and many elements were a lot like "Evil Dead 1 & 2", but more subtle and refined. Sam obviously made the most of the camera angles, scenery and lighting for specific reasons...the general "darkness" of the town versus the "light" surrounding Cate(the only one who could see the truth).

Maybe some didn't see a lot of the dark humor or appreciate the fine acting with non-stereotypical southern accents by all, especially Cate.

This is a film well worth repeated viewings.