The Gift Review
The Gift is a movie about a couple moving back to the husbands home town and getting stalked by the husbands former classmate. In a nutshell. Now, I love when movies or games can take a simplistic or odd (or both) idea and make it work brilliantly. And that's exactly what The Gift does.
So the movie starts with the couple moving in to their new house ( a general rule it seems for horror/thrillers). While out shopping, they run in to Gordo, the husband's old classmate and things go downhill from there. Gordo tries to force their friendship and when they don't reciprocate the main conflict arises. It's hard to go into depth with this movie without spoiling it, since the story is so essential. First off, let me start with the acting. Joel Edgerton is the writer and director for this movie, whilst playing the ever so creepy Gordo. He nails being the socially awkward, twitchy guy that everyone dreads running in to. Jason Bateman plays the husband, in probably his first ever serious role and does a great job of it. It's always cool to see comedy actors or action stars experiment with new genres and doing their roles justice on the first attempt. In fact, the acting all around is fantastic in this movie.
I love the way the movie is shot and the undertone to it as well. The house the couple moves in to is a fairly large flat, with a LOT of windows and glass walls. It gives it the sense of no privacy whatsoever. And it's always uncomfortable to see people, even if it's just a movie, pry in to other people's lives and ask intrusive questions to the point where it's eerie. Now, The Gift is a psychological thriller. If you watch all the Paranormal Activity movies to get pumped for this one, it won't have the same elements that make it scary or suspenseful. The premise is so simple, that if anyone tried hard enough, the events in this movie could actually happen to you, yet it still works. Granted, the pace of this movie isn't always fast or even moderately fast. There are some pointless scenes in the movie, possibly to add more screen time, but the story never loses it's grip on you.
All the lead characters are interesting so you never feel bored, even if the movie isn't going as fast as you would like it to. The story is full of secrets and twists and turns so that once your set on a theory or belief, most of the time it whisks you away from it. This movie personally also had some of the best suspense I've ever felt. It was so atmospheric and I couldn't help grinning in the theater when my stomach knotted up. There isn't any thematic music that keeps on playing over and over ( a la Jaws) but the sound effects are great. Every small noise is magnified when everything is dead silent, like a creaky door, and it all works perfectly. There is no slashing or stabbing to anticipate at anytime. Gordo is unpredictable which kind of fuels the creepiness factor and makes it more interesting. The suspense is more about one strange man taking ahold of a couple and ruining their lives making them paranoid.
Joel Edgerton must be a mastermind, because he somehow incorporated the feeling one has when they feel like someone's watching them in to this movie. That was probably the most enjoyable aspect of the movie for me. Throughout the entire movie there is this sinking gut feeling that things are not going to end well and the build up is incredible. Gordo is unpredictable, so there's really no guessing as to what he's going to do. The build up for the movie is great, however the actual reveal is not so great. It's just not all completely there and underdeveloped. There isn't much of a resolution either, the twist ending is left up to your interpretation. Sometimes that can be frustrating with movies, and sometimes it's fun to peel the layers away and digest it for a while. I ended up deciding that the ending was good, just underdeveloped and I liked digesting this movie and pondering about it.
-Underdeveloped end + Incredible suspense
-Slow paced at times + Superb acting
+ Great story with twists and turns
+ Simple and realistic premise
8.3/10
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