There’s an episode of Black Mirror called “Shut Up and Dance” that’s polarizing because it’s very good at making you feel very bad. You think you’ve seen enough thrillers to brace yourself for the final punch, but the shot is deliberately fired below the belt. That’s this movie. Written and directed by Joel Edgerton, who plays the insidious Gordo, The Gift spends much of its time developing a typical thriller plot about an increasingly creepy and dangerous new presence in the lives of a happy couple, played by Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall. Only that’s not what the film is about.
At this point, I’m going to shift away from Spoilers and say that Jason Bateman has never been better cast. He rebuilt his career as the most likable Bluth in Arrested Development, but there’s always this sense that he might have hung with a Brett Kavanaugh crowd back in the day. Here he gets to merge both sides into a complex performance that continually creates and repels sympathy. The Gift isn’t a film about actions, it’s a film about consequences. Edgerton’s script makes strong statements about who we are now and having to live with who we were back then.
Part of the reason why I was looking forward to The Gift was a piece of clickbait “Great Movies Ruined By Terrible Endings”. After watching the movie I read it, but most actual reviews I read praise The Gift’s final gut punch for the way Joel Edgerton unleashes it and quickly brings down the curtain. A viewer can admire the storytelling, the craft, much as I did, or they can despise the choice for what it does to the characters, what it means for some people the viewer gets easily involved with. That final blow, which is also about consequences, what we know about ourselves and our loved ones, what we don’t know and the secrets we choose to keep. It’s a film that produces a strong emotional reaction, but Edgerton has made a thought-provoking film and isn’t pushing buttons for effect.
Leave A Comment