THE GIFT

REVIEWED BY JAVIER ALDABALDE GADEA

Our rating: 1 out of 5

Because of: sexual content, language, violence, nudity

Rated:

The Gift is one of those films that makes you care about the characters, regardless of who you are and whether you find the story interesting or not. From the very beginning, the film strikes you deep and stays there for the rest of the movie. We connect with the main character from the opening sequence, and the story is utterly enthralling. Why? Well, first off, I have to say that the film's most brilliant aspect is Cate Blanchett's performance. I thought I had seen everything from this incredible actress, but I was wrong. She breaths life into her character in a way I hadn't seen before in this sort of motion picture. Forget Haley Joel Osment's performance in The Sixth Sense or Mel Gibson in Signs -- they don't hold a candle to this mesmerizing portrayal of a widowed mother in charge of her three sons.

For Annie Wilson, the most important thing in life are her children, and she is willing to risk her own life in order to protect them, even after she becomes the only witness of a murder and is partially accused of it. Her visions start coming more frequently and hunt her step everywhere she goes. Sure, the main lead is a psychic. A fortune teller, to be precise. It is implied that this is a gift inherited from her family -- the gift of foresight. Yet she never uses them for her own devices -- she doesn't charge her customers; instead she receives what they are willing to give to her. There are supernatural concepts mentioned -- but never fully discussed -- in this film, but this doesn't damage the movie's tone. Even without The Gift's many thrills and adventures, I would have watched the film anyway, just to contemplate Blanchett's brilliant performance.

The rest of the cast is stellar as well. Katie Holmes is sensual and is always fooling around with every man she encounters -- she is the contrary to Cate's character, and this is especially noteworthy when she looks at Annie in a not-too-friendly manner. Keanu Reeves is truly frightening in the role of an abusive husband who threatens Annie at every hour. Hilary Swank is fabulous as Reeves' wife who sees some kind of hope in the company of this "fortune teller." Greg Kinnear is effectively low-key as Holmes' boyfriend, and Giovanni Ribissi is amazingly believable in the role of a conflicted son. J.K. Simmons and Rosemary Harris have small but important roles.

The Gift features some scary sequences. Some of them resemble those of The Sixth Sense, but the most memorable are exclusively due to Raimi's own creation. There is a scene in which Annie walks in a path alone in the trees which is very well shot and the end result is memorable. Some parts of the movie are shot in a documentary style, and it sometimes gets in the middle of the story, but it works for the most part. However, the film's most shocking scenes are those related to the characters and their situations. There is one particularly powerful sequence in which Donnie Barksdale (Reeves) drags his wife Valerie (Swank) out from Annie's house. He takes her to his truck and we watch as Annie goes to defend her friend and suddenly falls to the floor. The whole sequence is shot with such realism I forgot this was actually a movie.

Equally disturbing is the scene when Cate's character reveals herself to the court. People think she's having fun with the matter, and she tells them about the desperation and despair concerning that subject. But alas, even The Gift falls prey to obvious content concerns. The R-rating is appropriate considering the sometimes graphic nature of the violence, as well as extreme upper female nudity (including a corpse), and harsh profanity (about fifteen f-words, along with 9 GD's and one Jesus). As Christians, we also can't forget the element of psychic powers. Fortune telling, contacting the dead, and other elements of a like nature are clearly against scripture.

The top-notch cast and original filmmaking entwine in a nearly perfect blend of drama and suspense. The score is soft and noble and when you leave the theater the remembrance you'll have of the movie will be of light, and not of darkness. Director Sam Raimi has done a fine job in crafting a film that could have easily been overlooked as just another horror flick. Yet The Gift is nothing of the sort. It's certainly not a horror movie, and I might go as far to say this isn't a thriller either. Sure, there are some creepy and visually intense scenes going on, but most importantly this film stands out as a character drama, and a great one at that.