Unwanted Gifts

It's been a while so I figured it was time to share my thoughts by way of another movie review. This time out we take a look at The Gift which is the directorial debut of Joel Edgerton (assuming you don't count the two shorts that he has previously been responsible for.

Edgerton is one of those actors who's face you may well recognise but aren't able to place just where you know him from. He was in Episodes 2+3 of the Star Wars franchise as well as Kinky Boots, Warrior andthe remake of The Thing among others. Here he not only directs but also casts himself as the central protagonist of the movie Gordo who is a character that pushes himself into the lives of a couple for reasons that will become clear as the film progresses.

The couple on question are Robyn played by Rebecca Hall (Iron Man 3 and Transcendence) and Simon who is played by Jason Bateman who is of course best known for Arrested Development and Horrible Bosses. It's in Batemans casting that I have the first real issue with this film because as acceptable an actor as he is I just don't buy him in this more serious of roles, but then I will admit I have not seen much of his more comedic stuff so maybe I am underestimating his performance but you know what they say about opinions.

So to the plot which sees Simon and Robyn move back to Simons home town in California where they are hoping for a fresh start after Robyn had a miscarriage. So they settle into their new home and all seems to be going swimmingly until they are out shopping and are approached by a man named Gordo who went to school with Simon. There is clearly some tension between the two males as Simon does not like the way Gordo begins to worm his way into their lives, bringing them gifts and getting himself invited to dinner at their house.

It all comes to a head when Simon tells Gordo that he has to stay away though Robyn does not agree as she just sees Gordo as a lonely man looking for some companionship.

So we then enter the creepy stalker phase where the couples dog goes missing and Simon visits Gordo to supposedly apologise but actually ends up beating him up. Meanwhile Robyn does some digging and discovers that Simon supposedly saved Gordo from being molested when they were kids though in the end it turns out that Simon actually made the whole story up as part of a bullying campaign he was waging against Gordo at the time. Following the lie that Simon told Gordos life went into freefall and he was almost killed by his own father all of which obviously horrifies Robyn who confronts Simon though that of well does go well.

Whilst all of this is taking place Robyn has a moment of relapse as it turns out she once had a drug problem though this does not stop her from falling pregnant. The final act of the film sees Robyn give birth whilst Simon receives a gift from Gordo which indicates that during her drug fuelled blackout he had actually raped an unconscious Robyn and was therefore the father of the baby....or is he? You see the point is that his ultimate revenge is having Simon never know whether he or Gordo actually impregnated Robyn.

As a stalker/thriller movie The Gift is not bad but the trouble is that that is all you can really say about it as it is frankly nothing special. When you consider other films of this type such as Cape Fear (both versions), Basic Instinct, Single White Female and The Hand That Rocks The Cradle are all fairly outstanding and considered classics with fans any film that is attempting to channel their spirit is going to have to be pretty damn good which unfortunately The Gift is not.

Bateman doe not come across as nasty or as slimey as his role requires and similarly Edgertons Gordo does not convey the kind of menace that a film of this nature demands. As stated above however I am not saying that this is a bad film it's just nothing special and as such I would struggle to recommend it to anyone who is looking for an hour and a halves entertainment. Now if there is nothing else that floats your boat and you're a fan of any of the principle stars of the film then by all means give it a go but for the purposes of this review I am going to have to give The Gift a fairly average 6 out of 10.