Retrospective: The Gift (2000)

The Gift
2000
108 min.
Rated R ("for violence, language, and sexuality/nudity")

Directed by: Sam Raimi
Starring:
Cate Blanchett: Annie Wilson
Giovanni Ribisi: Buddy Cole
Keanu Reeves: Donnie Barksdale
Hilary Swank: Valerie Barksdale
Greg Kinnear: Wayne Collins
Katie Holmes: Jessica King

The Gift, is what I call an "acting treat". In such films, the plot
is routine, there are but a few genuine surprises, and the film does
not attempt to be more than an above-average example of its respective
genre. What does merit a viewing is an all-star cast, each of whom
relishes the opportunity to chew on rich, meaty starring and
supporting roles without the burden of having to carry the film by
themselves. The plot is pure southern gothic melodrama. Alas, since
the onscreen talent plays the situation for unbending realism as
opposed to over-the-top absurdity, the film feels genuine and we
believe in what transpires and care about those it happens to.
The plot, in brief, concerns a small group of people living in
Brixton, Georgia. The townsfolk contain an example of nearly every
standard persona from such films. We have the mentally unbalanced
auto mechanic, the battered wife, her violent husband, the kindly
school principal, and the local sexpot to whom he is engaged. At the
center of this world is Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchett), a widow and
mother of three who supports her family with government supplements
and donations from her Tarot readings. From the first scene, it is
apparent that she a person of genuine decency and goodness. Yes, she
does indeed have physic powers, but her Tarot sessions are closer to
therapy sessions, where common-sense advice is dispelled under the
guise of prophecy. Yet she is still blind to the fact that no one in
her family has truly come to terms with the death of her husband.
Trouble starts when Annie attempts to convince Valerie to leave her
abusive husband. Donnie does not take kindly to this and begins
directly threatening her and her children. Annie is also distracted
by reoccurring visions regarding the soon-to-be wed Jessica King.
When Jessica disappears, the distraught fiancée and her desperate
father come to Annie for help, against the wishes of a mostly
disbelieving sheriff (J.K. Simmons, soon to be J. Jonah Jameson in
Raimi's next movie: some little art-house flick called Spider-Man).
As stated before, the actors involved are obviously relishing the
opportunity to play dark, grimy, three-dimensional characters without
a shred of pretension or movie star glitz. The biggest surprise comes
from Giovanni Ribisi, who far exceeds past mediocre work as a mentally
scarred man who truly hates his father and constantly obsesses about a
"blue diamond" but is unable to remember the motives for either
emotion.
Also terrific is Keanu Reeves, who I have always believed is far
undervalued as a genuinely convincing actor (like Kevin Costner, his
utter refusal to chew the scenery or overact has often resulted in
accusations of being wooden). His role is simply to play the
stereotypical, violently ill tempered, redneck, abusive husband, and
that is all he does, with not a drop of indulgence or showboating. It
is worth noting that the person I saw this film with did not realize
that Reeves was even in the film until the end credits rolled.
Cate Blanchett dominates the proceedings proving yet again
that she has potential to be one of the great actresses of the next
twenty years (Blanchett's loss of the Oscar in 1998 is one of the
greatest travesties in the Academy's history). The film is, above all
else, about how Annie tries to determine whether her powers are a gift
or a curse. Throughout the picture we see, through the simplest,
subtlest facial expressions and bodily gestures, Annie constantly
question why she has been given this ability yet could not even save
her own husband from a fatal accident that she had foreseen.
The rest of the cast goes out of their way to create genuine
human beings, without once succumbing to stereotypical "ye-haw"
characterizations that often plague films set in the Deep South. In
fact, it is refreshing to see a film set in the rural south where not
everyone is dumb, naïve, poor, racist, and full of fortune cookie
wisdom and crude humor to offset the "white-trash" lifestyle.
In the end, The Gift is pure entertainment, nothing more and
nothing less. It has an interesting plot, several suspenseful
moments, solid, non-intrusive direction by Sam Raimi, and a nice,
gently surprising, non-jolting climax. Most importantly, it has a
collection of top-notch actors doing what they do best: creating
authentic, sympathetic, interesting characters and obviously having
fun doing it. You can always tell when actors are having fun in their
work. There is a sense of joy you can often sense when actors know
they are doing good work or are in a film that they know is better
than the usual tripe. It is that joy that this cast displays in
displaying their respective gifts that make The Gift a worthwhile
thriller.

Grade: A-