The Gift—Movie Review

by Peter J. O'Connell

The Gift. Released: August 2015. Runtime: 108 mins. Rated: R for language.

The “dog days” of late summer often bring to theatres movies that are “dogs”--sometimes ones with big budgets—but also movies with real bite, even on small budgets. The Gift is among the latter. Written by, directed by, co-produced by and costarring Joel Edgerton, the film emanates a psychological chill that can add to the physiological chill of any theatre's air-conditioning system. Moviegoers will note elements from other films—including classics by Hitchcock and Polanski and European thrillers such as With a Friend Like Harry and Cache—in The Gift, but Edgerton and his costars Rebecca Hall and Jason Bateman make everything seem fresh.

Bateman and Hall are Simon and Robyn, a yuppie couple in their 30s, who move from Chicago back to the Los Angeles area, where Simon was raised, so that he can pursue the possibility of a substantially better corporate position. Robyn, who is somewhat frail psychologically and very desirous of having a baby, plans to work out of their home. By chance the couple encounters Gordo (Edgerton), a sad sack of a fellow, who claims to know Simon from high school days. Simon at first says that he does not recall Gordo, but later he tells Robyn that he now remembers Gordo and that he was a “weirdo.” Gordo seeks to befriend the couple and keeps leaving gifts for them. Robyn is sympathetic toward Gordo, but Simon seeks to end their contact with him.

That doesn't prove to be easy, and though Faulkner's famous saying that “the past isn't dead; it isn't even past” is not mentioned in the film, it becomes the theme as very strange things start happening—strange and violent things that provide the audience with some notable scares. What is most scary, however, is not any specific happening, but the truth about the characters that is gradually revealed, culminating in a haunting climax.

Edgerton wears his many “hats” with skill. Bateman, usually seen in comedies, shows dramatic “chops.” And the lovely Hall, who has been excellent in everything that she has ever been in, keeps up that record by embodying a character who turns weakness into strength.

“Footnote” to the film: One of the theatres showing The Gift is at the site of the former Showcase/Rave Cinemas in North Haven. The Showcase/Rave multiplex has now been demolished and replaced by the 14-screen Cineplex. Among its new features, the Cineplex sells a wide array of beers in its lobby and has padded easy chairs in its auditoriums. The chairs have footrests as well as controls that allow for various positionings of each chair. The chairs also have armrests that can be folded up so as to allow for closer contact, if desired, between patrons in adjoining seats. (A boon to daters!) Also, when a ticket is purchased, a seat must be chosen by means of a computer gizmo located in front of the cashier. This device shows the location of the seats in each auditorium and which ones have been taken up to that point.