Joel Edgerton's The Gift is great because it's so well constructed. This is Edgerton's directorial debut, and it's a masterpiece of direction, specifically. I noticed this immediately. The entire thing feels orchestrated, but never seems fake because the actors are really quite subtle. Plus an orchestrated plot doesn't particularly mean a bad one. The Gift shakes the audience around so much that it's almost worth the slight amount of artificiality. REALLY WORTH IT. The Gift has a husband and wife, played by Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall, who move into a new house. Their lives are then upheaved by the appearance of an old acquaintance, named Gordo (Joel Edgerton). The Bateman's character is hiding something, and everything unwinds. I will not say anything to that matter. Spoiling this film would be a crime. But again, this movie is really more about the direction of everything, and that becomes more apparent as the minutes tick by. There always seems to be something off. Always something that makes your chest tighten up, and your hands shake. This is achieved, I think, because Edgerton uses staging incredibly, even though he pushes it a little far. The film is over-staged, but it somewhat works to it's benefit. Edgerton doesn't just want you to see the characters; he wants you to see the whole frame. He wants you to see what's in the background, and the way it's all staged means that you notice that. These small details in the background then link to other details, and so on, and so forth. It's really satisfying when you realize that something small that you noticed earlier pays off in a big way, and it makes the film seem all the more rich. Richness that the film needs to counterweight the somewhat implausible proceedings, as well as the fact that it's all a little over staged. The details also make the film pretty scary. There are two jump scares in this movie, but they feel earned because there is truly something to be scared of on the other end of them; one song's use is so scary I almost cried when it came blasting in. The plot and direction style you may gather are not that subtle, and probably with actors that were the same, the film might have become campy. That's not really the case though. Most of the actors are very subtle, and that benefits the film by enriching it, and helping with the crazy plot just as much as the direction does. Rebecca Hall is the best here, doing some great method acting that helps advance the already excellent staging. Edgerton himself plays Gordo, and he's really having fun getting into the character he wrote. Gordo is a soft spoken person, and really interesting when you get down to it. The bulked up Edgerton is awesome in the role, giving off a very friendly, but also creepy vibe. If there's one actor that doesn't quite fit the subtlety, it's Jason Bateman, but he's never been too subtle of an actor, leading to his scenes feeling a little campy. He's really no where near bad; he's just a little out of place. And that's all I can say. To be frank, The Gift is so intelligently put together I am having a hard time with reviewing it. This is an excellent film and thriller. I give The Gift a 9.5 out of 10.
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December 2017
CategoriesAuthorHello welcome to FilmAnalyst. My name is Stephen Tronicek, and I really like movies. This is a way to get my opinions out to people. Thank you for visiting. |