Customer Reviews

The Gift (Widescreen)

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(28)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I happened to come upon this movie one night in the video store. I was gleefully surprised by the suspenseful plot and the genuinely good acting. The actors in it are less well known overall, but it was the best movie I saw in 2001. I recommend you pick it up at the video store too.

The Gift is destined to always be a three star out of five film, though don't let that dissuade you from watching it, because that's not to say that it's worthless. Far from it. Co-scripted by Billy Bob Thornton, The Gift relates the rather straightforward story of a woman (Cate Blanchett) haunted by her psychic visions of the murder of a young girl (Katie Holmes) from the backwater town she lives in. Red herrings abound, almost to the point of ridiculousness where you begin to suspect pretty much every character bar Blanchett's.

What lifts the movie out of its mediocrity is the fact that it's cast does so much with the slight material they've been handed. Blanchett proves that Elizabeth was no fluke, giving a typically strong performance of a woman on the edge of breakdown. Given her recent casting as lead in movies such as Charlotte Gray and Heaven, along with some high profile supporting roles in Lord of the Rings and The Talented Mr. Ripley, this is one actress who's undoubtedly going to go far. Every bit as good as Blanchett though is Giovanni Ribisi, playing a deranged man-child who forms an unwholesome attachment to Blanchett. His weepy yet electrifying performance rivets the movie in place in a much more powerful way that Keanu Reeves' bearded psycho could ever manage. Surprisingly, director Sam Raimi has also managed to garner Oscar-winner Hilary Swank who, despite turning in a solid performance, gives the impression that Boys Don't Cry might have been the best role she's ever likely to get in a while if she's taking relatively small roles in something like this.

Whilst this never reaches the highs of other recent ghost stories (The Sixth Sense, The Others and the Japanese version of Ring are all much better), this is nothing short of a solid effort from the director of zombie classic Evil Dead, and is rarely short of compelling. If it lacks a little originality in the script give it some credit; there's a place for small-ish movies like this, especially given Raimi's latest blockbuster Spiderman. In short - good, but no classic.

The plot of this movie could've been a bit better (it was rather predictable and, to me, slow at points) but I found the cast very good. I found all the characters believable. I was especially impressed by Keanu Reeves's character (who was really the reason i rented this--I'm a huge fan) who I didn't expect to be very good. I didn't think he could pull off a villian role (even in "The Watcher" he never eally showed much of an evil side) but the first little...outburst effectively freaked me out. I just can't stand him with a Southern accent...

So, I really recommend this movie if you're in the mood for a mystery movie. Not that there's much mystery to it really.

Sam Raimi takes a detour from his blood and guts horror fare (that's Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, and Army of Darkness to you Mundanes) to create this spooky picture about a woman with the, well...the gift to perform tarot readings for the local townsfolk. The movie is most specifically about the deep south and its inhabitants. This movie taught me that apparently everyone living in the south is some kind of freakish, backward, ill-educated slob. Such a sadsack cast of characters provides plenty for Kate Blanchett's character to do as a result. Mostly, she acts as a psychiatrist.

More irritating is the use of completely non-Tarot-like reading. In a movie where Kate's character is perpetually harassed for her "Satanic" rituals of Tarot-reading, it's bizarre that an actual Tarot isn't used. Instead, we get the dumbed down version: symbols that represent the four elements, a star, a square, etc. The symbols are used to good effect -- when she reads the future of a murder victim, she draws four "water" cards. But really, couldn't they have used real Tarot cards? I expect a wee bit more daring from a guy who filmed an eyeball popping into a woman's mouth.

But I digress. The two outstanding actors in this film are Keanu Reeves and Giovanni Ribisi. That's right, you saw me type that correctly -- Keanu Reeves. Keanu has a typically vapid look about him that makes him a canvas for more complex stories. I call it the Kevin Costner effect. This is why he works so well in the Matrix -- he's bland enough to allow the ridiculously complex backstory of the Matrix to swirl around him. But what's most startling is to see that vacuous stare used to startling effect in The Gift. Add a few pounds, give Keanu a shaggy beard, and his soft brown eyes become the cold glaze of a killer. Or at least, a wife beater. He pulls it off with terrifying menace. It made me want to rent The Watcher just to see if this was a fluke or due to Sam's influence.

Giovanni, of course, plays a psychotic. Gee, who would have thought, Giovanni playing a weird creepy guy! Still, he's like the Jack Nicholson of our era, because he does it SO WELL.

Ultimately, the movie was predictable. Maleficent and I trakced every single surprise, the twist ending, everything -- we mapped this puppy out in perfect detail and were never wrong once. Does this make it a bad movie? Not at all. Does it make it a great movie? Alas, not. Sam can do better. But we still love ya Sam.

Cate Blanchett is brilliant in the leading role of Annie Wilson in this wonderful movie. Blanchett is approaching Streep-status in her ability to completely embrace her role and pivot a movie into its highest potential. She is aided by a wonderful script by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson; the beautiful and evocative music by Christopher Young; Jamie Anderson's gorgeous camerawork and a stupendous supporting cast: Hilary Swank, Greg Kinnear (a much better actor than one would have thought); Keanu Reeves (his most effective performance yet); Giovanni Ribisi (remarkable in his role as a troubled car mechanic); Gary Cole, Kim Dickens, Katie Holmes, and even Rosemary Harris' small role as Annie's grandma. Sam Raimi's pacing is excellent, and there are some extremely powerful scenes.
But the movie is Miss Cate's and she is awesome to watch.
A real winner!

The movie is so full of great stars - Cate, Keanu, Hilary, Katie.... Cate is as usual a very fine performer. But I don't think Keanu is believable as the bad husband. He is not a bad actor he is more suitable as Neo, someone more heroic.
About the director - Sam Raimi is not a great (but not bad) director - to me. Spider-man is just so-so. Evil Dead is just okay, compare to many horror classics. So, it is not a surprise that I find the movie is just a okay movie. The most enjoyable part is to see the acting of the fine casts. You may have already realized from other reviews that the story is very predictable, and I agree very much with that.
Finally, I will give one extra star for Katie Holmes, for her stunning beauty, and her first-time nudity on big screen.

In this suspenseful story set in a small southern town, a widowed mother of 2 played by Cate Blanchett gets caught in the midst of a murder mystery, which unfolds with the guidance of her psychic "gift." The story was co-written by Billy-Bob Thornton, and director Raimi has cast a superb ensemble of actors, including Blanchett, Hillary Swank, Greg Kinnear, Keanu Reeves, Giovanni Ribisi, & Katie Holmes. This paranormal thriller is spine-tingling in places, but ultimately has a warm compassionate foundation that speaks of universal human emotional needs that all the characters must cope with.

This could have been, should have been, a terrific thriller. The acting by all is definitely first rate, the direction tight, the setting perfect and creepy. The problem is, it's ultimately formulaic and you can predict the murderer - and ending - from a very, very long way off. The main problem is a tiny cast, so too small a pool of potential killers to choose from. I don't know why, but I expected a more original story from writer Billy Bob Thornton. Really a shame and just too bad, because it's otherwise a great film with captivating performances, especially from the marvelous Cate Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi, and surprisingly enough, Keanu Reeves is believably menacing as the wife beating redneck.

I recommend this as a rental only, because one viewing is enough.

This is only vaguely similar to the Sixth Sense, but it also reminded me of Blair Witch. Although it's predictable in places, it's not too predictable so you know what's going to happen before it happens, but certain scenes you can.

I was quite shocked when I discovered Billy Bob Thornton wrote this, and that Sam Raimi directed it. Billy Bob always comes across as weird to me - he looks so rough most of the time, but then you see him in films, he's totally unrecognisable, and doesn't look like the same person. Sam Raimi is a whole other kettle of fish. He previously directed The Evil Dead movies, the second one, which I managed to fall asleep during!

All the characters played their parts well in this. Especially Katie Holmes and Keanu Reeves. Both of them play different characters to what they would normally play in films. Katie is always known as sweet and virginal Joey in Dawson's Creek, but totally shows the viewers she can act and can do different characters. As a big fan of Keanu, I can't say I've seen him play a bad BAD guy, not to this extent anyway. His character is a wife beater, who does get accused of killing Katie's character. He could have been slagged rotten in the press and by critics for playing this kind of character, but he manages to pull it off, and succeeds. You believe in his character, and totally forget this is the guy from Speed, and the dork from Bill & Ted. His hair is grown out, he's got an albeit patchy beard, and dare I say it, he's looking chubby! (But not as bad as Chain Reaction!) Keanu got praise when this film was released, and he could have been stereotyped after Speed (and probably now after the Matrix), but has pulled off a number of different roles. I was not expecting to like his character at all, and I didn't and that's what made me like the movie even better.

I've never really been a big fan of Cate Blanchett, but she was perfect for this role. Giovanni Ribisi was great, and made you forget that he was ever in Friends, and Hilary Swank . . . Well, we have to admit her hair was bad, and she was looking positively anorexic. But they all did well.

The extras on the DVD are your basic extras, with some cast & crew interviews and a very short behind the scenes featurette, and TV/radio spots. The latter I can't stand on DVDs, as they just repeat the trailer over and over.

All in all, a great movie. And I dare anyone to guess who the killer really is. I got it wrong.

this one is about Blanchett and shes the towns local psychic with her tera cards and stuff. Hilary Swank visits her about her abusive husband played with pure evilness by Keanu Reeves who looks like he didnt shower for awhile, Reeves starts to terroize Blanchett and all the while Katie Holmes ends up missing and dead. Blanchett suspects Reeves and Reeves goes to jail but she soon finds out the truth, it was Greg Kinnear who did it. Giovanni Ribisi is snapping in his role and he shows it. the highlight is when Reeves tries to mess with Blanchett's kid and Ribisi takes out a crowbar and bashes up Reeves' truck, awesome and this is directed by Sam Raimi people, the person who brought you A Simple Plan, Spider-man, Evil Dead I and II and Army Of Darkness. Katie Holmes has some good tatas, heh heh