R
| 108 min |
Mystery, Thriller | 7 August 2015 (USA)
A young married couple's lives
are thrown into a harrowing tailspin when an acquaintance from the husband's
past brings mysterious gifts and a horrifying secret to light after more than
20 years.
Director: Joel Edgerton
Writer: Joel Edgerton
Stars: Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, Joel Edgerton.
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| The Gift (2015) Full Movie Download |
Storyline
Simon and Robyn are a young
married couple whose life is going just as planned until a chance encounter
with an acquaintance from Simon's high school sends their world into a
harrowing tailspin. Simon doesn't recognize Gordo at first, but after a series of
uninvited encounters and mysterious gifts prove troubling, a horrifying secret
from the past is uncovered after more than 20 years. As Robyn learns the
unsettling truth about what happened between Simon and Gordo, she starts to
question: how well do we really know the people closest to us, and are past
bygones ever really bygones?
User Reviews
The only more underserved genre
for moviegoers besides serious adult comedies/dramas or immersing fantasies are
the classic thriller. The last truly marvelous, slick thriller that graced
multiplexes nationwide was "Prisoners," an unnerving mystery
revolving around the kidnapping of two young girls, with one father going to
desperate lengths to find them. Since then, marginally passable films like
"No Good Deed" have stumbled into theaters but never left the kind of
imprint on audiences that has them genuinely consumed with fear and uncertainty
thanks to the slickness of a film.
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| The Gift (2015) Full Movie Download |
Joel Edgerton's directorial debut
"The Gift" is the first thriller that will leave an imprint on its
viewers in a long time for more reasons than its rich cinematography and
expertly paced narrative. It's the kind of film that gets one to look
introspectively at the wrongs they've committed, in this case, in school, where
perhaps a rumor you helped spread, or even started, went on to scar the victim
for life. Perhaps if you helped spread said rumor, you've moved on, but what if
the person you hurt hasn't forgotten the pain and torment your little white lie
caused?
"The Gift" examines the
idea of an unburied hatchet by focusing on the young married couple of Simon
and Robyn (Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall). They've just moved into a
beautiful, spacious home, with Simon finding tremendous success with the
company he works for and Robyn coming to terms with her anxiety and her
addiction to prescription medication. Hoping to start life a new, they are
thrown for a loop when they meet a man named Gordon (nicknamed
"Gordo," played by Edgerton) at a home-appliance store. Gordo is an
old classmate of Simon, who barely recognizes him, yet still, upon even a brief
conversation, recalls he's still four tires short of a car.
Gordo repeatedly makes kind, yet
invasive gestures towards Simon and Robyn, delivering wine, bringing fishes to
fill their small pond out front, and stopping by while Robyn is home alone to
keep her company. While Robyn sees a sensitive, somewhat lost soul in Gordo,
Simon sees nothing but a creep - a persistent creep that has something to prove
or uncover about him that Simon doesn't want revealed. Eventually, when Gordo's
actions turn particularly personal and an apology on his part is warranted, Simon
and Robyn receive a letter asking for "bygones to be bygones" for
something that occurred in the past, to which only Robyn is left clueless.
The performances here are
unanimously strong, particularly from Bateman, who gives one of his only very
serious roles to date here. Bateman even delivers a powerful monologue before
his costar, Hall, who also does some good work as a troubled woman simply
wanting peace of mind, concerning the "winners and losers" of America
and how people are only held back by personal insecurities and events of the
past because they choose to be. His delivery and conviction here is very
strong, as he deadlocks his eyes into Hall and digs into her, himself, and
everything that occurred in the past in one great scene.
Edgerton, however, has the real
challenging role - playing a guy who can look sweet and nimble, almost
neighborly, but also a bit off and maybe even a little unstable. Edgerton's
blank facial expressions find ways to be amiable, despite his behavior being
increasingly troubling, almost too kind, and the character he creates for
himself is one you struggle to find exactly what's bad about him when "too
nice" doesn't seem to cut it.
Yet Edgerton's craft here is
something to really marvel at. Serving as the writer, director, and
co-producer, "The Gift" is essentially his playground and, in turn,
he creates a thrilling funhouse of Hitchcockian principles and truly absorbing
fear. Drenched in dingy, saturated cinematography, casting a moody light on
nearly every scene, "The Gift"'s atmosphere (thanks to
cinematographer Eduard Grau) is a richly detailed one. The eeriness is very
even and understated, and the fright aspect sneaks up on you like the
potentially deeper meaning of a kind neighbor's gesture. This is a beautiful
film in terms of its look and feel, constantly feeling like its toying with
your emotions.
Finally, there's the narrative
structure, which is very unlike Hollywood. Unlike more conventional thrillers,
like "No Good Deed," "The Gift" doesn't really have that
incredulous, explosive moment, where everything you thought wouldn't happen
does and the plausibility gets sacrificed for theatrics. Sure, there are some
great twists, including one that goes further than I ever expected this film to
go, but never is there that one moment where every ostensibly implausible thing
occurs that effectively derails the entire project in terms of tone and pacing.
"The Gift" remains consistent in creating a feeling of dread, even
when the tables turn and the protagonist and antagonist lines are blurred.
At the end of the day, however,
Edgerton is the real star here. Proving himself a competent do-all man and not
just a gimmicky actor-turned-director, he molds "The Gift" to his
liking and asserts himself not only as a strong lover of thrillers and Hitchcockian
principles but an actor who can also say, "sit back and watch" when
he goes to do something and actually do it correctly.
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