"The Gift" Review

I find that every year there are a few of those movies that catch me off guard. The one’s that I’ve never heard of suddenly getting recognition, the one’s I’d forgotten about that leap onto the scene. And then there are the ones like “The Gift”. Produced by Blumhouse (Paranormal Activity, Insidious), this film looked like your standard suburban thriller, one that we had seen thousands of times before. Yet, the movie intrigued me with its casting choices, specifically of Jason Bateman as the husband and Joel Edgerton as the supposed awkward antagonist. Once I heard the good word of mouth this movie was receiving, I knew I had to check it out.

                “The Gift” follows married couple Simon (Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) who have just moved from Chicago to the upper suburbs of California. Things are looking good for them, Simon has a good job that can lead to a promotion, and Robyn has the opportunity to start up another business. A few days into their move, a strange man walks up to Simon in a furniture store saying he knows him from high school After some awkward banter, the man reveals himself to be Gordon (Edgerton), or “Gordo” as he used to be known in high school. Simon recognizes him and reveals that they used to be friends in high school. After this encounter, Gordo starts to leave gifts in front of their house, slowly edging his way into their life. Yet, the closer Gordo gets, the less likely it is that he may be nefarious and it becomes more obvious who the real villain is in the group.

                One of the best things I can say about “The Gift”, out of the many things it does right, is that it does a fantastic job at messing with the audiences expectations. At the beginning, everyone can see where it’s going, we’ve all seen it a million times before. Gordo will try to get close, the couple will shoo him away, he’ll get angry and try to get revenge as it’s revealed he’s insane and a murderer.  Yet, halfway through the film it becomes obvious that this is not your average thriller. It starts to take sharp story turns and flip the characters on their heads, fleshing them out as it goes. At this point, I thought I had the movie figured out, even if the initial twist was clever. Then, it flips the film again and goes places I would never expect. By the end, I was stunned and excited by how effectively the movie had messed with me.

                What carries this twisty story are the actors, especially Joel Edgerton, who has triple duty as director, writer, and actor. Obviously this has been something he’s been wanting to do for a while, because Gordo is at once unnerving and sympathetic, which are not two emotions one usually associates with Edgerton. Bateman and Hall give great performances as well, walking the fine line of their characters quite well. Yet, they still don’t hold a candle to Edgerton. 

                Also surprising is how effective Edgerton is behind the camera. While nothing earth-shattering, the cinematography is unique and fits the tone of the film overall. There are even a few interesting camera tricks and uses which show that he knows his way around a set. One interesting touch is that early on in the film before Gordo is introduced, he can be seen in the background simply standing and staring at Bateman and Hall, yet he blends in so well that it’s hard to notice at first. The script is nothing to sneeze at either, rarely becoming melodramatic or unnatural.

                “The Gift” is a welcome surprise during this already solid summer season. A film that has the courage to not only be different, but to trust its audience enough to go along with it. By the end, viewers will either be on board with what it’s trying to accomplish or will feel cheated, and will be lesser for it. If you want thrills on a smaller scale after all the blockbusters, “The Gift” is certainly worth your time.