The Gift: Blu Ray Review
Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Home Ent
Bypassing cinema release here, this drama written and directed by Aussie Joel Edgerton is quite the surprise.
Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall star as Simon and Robyn a couple who are buying a new home in Simon's home town. When they get there, they re-encounter one of Simon's old high school friends Gordo (Edgerton) and find him imposing on their lives with gifts and unexpected visits. Shaken by the unwarranted attention, Robyn starts to dig around over why he's sniffing about....The Gift does suspense well and aims to provoke with its unsettling nature; at its core, Edgerton works well behind the camera as he keeps you guessing and Bateman impresses with a more serious turn proving that he really does have the great dramatic chops when he needs to.
The darker seedier edge of an apparently perfect life may not exactly be a new idea, but the trio sell it with considerable aplomb and a twist of an icky ending gives more power to the Blumhouse productions desire to unsettle you.
While parts could have done with being a little tighter, and a slight trim would have lost some of the fat but none of the atmosphere, The Gift is well worth a watch - and a sign that Edgerton continues to rise and rightly so.
I agree: This is definitely a film that "keeps you guessing." We wonder if Gordo is a good guy, a bad guy, or both. It would be hard to do a sequal, but I hope these three actors will make another film together.
ReplyDeleteI wrote a short essay (400 words) on the Gift called "The Root Cause of Contempt." If you would like to read it, I am open to any feedback: https://christopherjohnlindsay.wordpress.com/2016/05/02/the-gift/