The Gift (2015)
Certified: 15
Duration: 108 minutes
Directed by: Joel Edgerton
Starring: Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, Joel Edgerton, Tim Griffin, Allison Tolman, Beau Knapp, P.J. Byrne, David Denman, Busy Philipps, Wendell Pierce, Katie Aselton
KRS Releasing Ltd
Jason Bateman is Simon, an up-and-coming guy with a beautiful wife, Robyn (Rebecca Hall), and a great job. The two have just moved to the perfect house in Los Angeles. When out shopping, they meet Gordo (Joel Edgerton), who went to the same high school as Simon.
The next morning they find an expensive bottle of wine left at their front door as a gift from Gordo. This is the first in a list of visits and presents which leaves Robyn asking questions. Simon is not happy with this either and finally decides to tell Gordo to stop coming by and stop giving them presents.
That is when, back home, they find all the koi fish that he had given them dead. Their dog goes missing and a letter tells them that bygones will be bygones. Robyn suspects there is something in the past that happened between Gordo and Simon.
The Gift is a master class for film directors and scriptwriters in how to deliver a thriller to the screen. Using the same style as films like Fatal Attraction and Unlawful Entry, The Gift builds up its thrills with a very strong hand.
The movie also plays with its audience. The result is a film that is all about discovery and characterisation. Layers upon layers are delved into and uncovered, and it’s in this manner that the audience gets to know the characters.
The film is a master class for directors
It’s a movie about motivation and how thin a line there is between hero and villain.
First-time director Joel Edgerton, who has had roles in movies such as Warrior (2011) and Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014), here delivers well as the socially-inept and clumsy Gordo, but even more so as a director. He seems to have an answer to everything, an ace up his sleeve for every moment, and the ability to keep the audience on their toes.
The movie becomes oriented towards characterisation and placing of doubts and clues, which this makes us even more sympathetic to the character played by Rebecca Hall, who starts to realise that she does not really know her husband at all.
Jason Bateman is also a revel-ation as he really fits his role well. The actor is mostly known for his good-guy roles and his comedy, but here he surprises as he presents a character with a past, a character that is one huge dilemma. It also leads us to the question of how much we can change.