The Gift (2001)

MOVIE GOOD, DISC NOT

THIS IS NOT ABOUT THE MOVIE SO MUCH AS IT IS ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE PRODUCT. I HAD SEEN THIS MOVIE BEFORE AND WANTED IT FOR MY PERSONAL LIBRARY. I DID NOT HAVE A CHANCE TO VIEW IT RIGHT AWAY DUE TO THE FACT I TAKE CARE OF 3 LITTLE ONES AND DONT HAVE AS MUCH TIME AS BEFORE. WHEN I DID GET THE CHANCE, I WAS DISAPPOINTED, NOT IN THE MOVIE( IT'S GREAT, THE PERFORMANCE BY CATE BLANCHETT IS EXCELLENT) BUT THE DISC KEPT FREEZING UP.NOW I AM SOMEWHAT LEARY ABOUT PURCHASING ANOTHER. I DONT HAVE THE TIME TO SEND THINGS BACK SO I WIND UP JUST TOSSING THEM. IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO BUY THIS MOVIE FOR YOURSELF OR SOMEONE ELSE, TAKE HEED AND CHECK IT AS SOON AS YOU GET IT TO MAKE SURE YOU DONT GET A BAD DISC. AS FOR ME, LIVE AND LEARN! December 22, 2008

Honest Film About A Southern Taboo

This movie was made in Savannah, Ga. If you saw Midnight In The Garden, you are already aware of the 'other' presence there of magic, obeah and other supernatural events. Ribisi is just incredible in this film. I really like this guy enormously. He gives 1000 percent in every performance. Ms. Blanchett shines as the gal with the gift. While the story is very over the top, all of the people depicted are right on. I did get a few phone calls from back home (Savannah) asking me if I had anything to do with this film inasmuch as I am known for having the gift, myself. Nope. Not a thing. But I did very much enjoy watching the film and understanding how difficult it is to be special in a small city. Seeing Katie Holmes topless was rather a shock, but this was before Tom came on the scene. Greg Kinnear gives a low-key, endearing but really honest performance. I won't give the ending away but you will be surprised. Enjoyable movie to watch on a rainy weekend night. August 3, 2008

Visions And Portents...

Small town psychic reader, Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchett from the Lord Of The Rings trilogy) finds herself caught up in the storm caused by the disappearance of a young woman (Katie Holmes), her impossibly nice fiancé (Greg Kinnear), a wife-beater and his victim (Keanu Reaves and Hilary Swank), and a mentally ill tow-truck driver (Giovanni Ribisi). Annie is the central figure, using her gift to help the police locate the missing girl. Unfortunately, nothing is as it seems, and everyone's a suspect! THE GIFT is another solid thriller from director Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Darkman, A Simple Plan). He's got quite an ensemble to work with here. I love the entire cast, but Ribisi's character is my favorite. He is somehow endearing and frightening at the same time. If you are a mystery / thriller / horror fanatic, then this one will satisfy. Highly recommended... July 11, 2008

I thought The Gift was a excellent film!

Sam Rami, better known for directing the "Evil Dead" and "Spiderman" series of films, did a gem of a movie several years ago with a cast that included two Oscar winners (Cate Blanchett and Hilary Swank) and Oscar-nominated Greg Kinnear. Keanu Reeves, in one of his better performances, is in it, along with Giovanni Ribisi, Katie Holmes and Michael Jeter. What an all-star cast! If that wasn't enough, Oscar winner, Billy Bob Thornton, and Tom Epperson wrote the script. What they created was something very special. It wasn't so much a horror movie as a thriller centered on a widowed mother of three, living in a small southern town and who's able to see the future of other people and the turmoil this eventually creates when the town's promiscuous debutante is murdered. In many ways, I consider The Gift to be Rami's best film to date because of its humanity, its look at a special skill that I believe some people actually have, the premise that there is life after death and that spirits of loved ones can communicate with us, and the struggle of one person has to endure to tell the truth, no matter what the cost to her and her family.

The Gift refers to the psychic ability that widowed Annie Wilson (played by Blanchett) has and how she uses it for card readings to support her family. Keeping a low profile and with many of the town's women coming to her for practical and emotional advice each day, Annie suddenly finds herself caught in the middle of a controversy when she psychically sees the murder of the town's sexually active debutante (played by Katie Holmes). Because of the Annie's visions, the local sheriff is led to believe that the abusive husband (Keanu Reeves) of one of her clients (Hilary Swank) is the murderer, especially since he was having an affair with her. It doesn't help that Reeves' character had also been harassing and threatening Annie's family because of the advice she'd given to his wife. All, however, isn't what it seems. There are lies and deceptions to weed through, and Annie will have to put her life on the line to get to the truth.

What made this move work for me was the realism that Cate Blanchett brought to the role of Annie Wilson. Though British, Blanchett seemed to become an actual low-income woman of the South with three kids to take care of and no prospects of a better future since the death of her husband. I, as a viewer, immediately cared for Annie and her struggles and what she went through after the murder of Katie Holmes' character. Of course, it helps that all of the other actors were right on the mark, too. Keanu Reeves captured the meanness of a redneck abusive husband and the fear he can generate in the lives of the women around him perfectly. Giovanni Ribisi was also great as one of Annie's clients--a mechanic with his own demons to battle, yet he's secretly in love with her and always takes up for her and her children, even at the end. Then, there's Greg Kinnear as the good-hearted school principal, who is the fiancée of Katie Holmes' character, and whom you hope will get together with Annie by the end of the film. The acting is superb and the script flawless and the direction brings everything together into a film that's on its way to becoming a classic. Let me just say again that this isn't a horror movie, but rather a suspenseful thriller with strong supernatural overtones. This is definitely a movie I can watch over and over again, and still enjoy it. The DVD has a behind-the-scenes' featurette that is quite good. Highly recommended.
June 25, 2008

Psychic + Murder

A thoroughly enjoyable and suspenseful story with an outstanding cast of mighty fine actors, this movie is laced with a few twists and turns. It begins in the South, around the swamplands in Alabama, I believe. Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchette) is a widow with 3 boys to raise. Her husband died about a year ago. She gets a small Social Security check and supplements it with donations she receives for giving (psychic) card readings for the local people. Valerie Barksdale (Hilary Swank) is one of her fairly frequent customers. Valerie's husband Donnie Barksdale (Keanu Reeves) is very physically and verbally abusive to Valerie. We are talking black eyes, dragging by the hair, etc. Donnie is also a serious redneck. Valerie is always sneaking off to see Annie and asking Annie what to do. Then Donnie gets mad at Valerie for going to see Annie. Donnie also gets mad because Annie tells Valerie to leave Donnie. He tells Annie to "STAY AWAY FROM MY WIFE!" and starts threatening Annie and her boys, but, I'm jumping a tad ahead of myself.

Annie is called to school because one of her boys was fighting. He is still very angry over his father's death. The teacher is the fine actor Greg Kinnear (Wayne)(the gay guy in "As Good As It Gets"). I LOVE him. He is always such a great asset to any movie. Wayne is an easy-tempered school teacher. Wayne's fiancee, Jessica, is a bit free-spirited with the men in town. Of course, she sneaks off for her little escapades when Wayne is not looking.

Back to Annie--Annie is low on money and she has a friend "Buddy" in town. Buddy is the local mechanic and all his pistons are not firing properly. I mean, Buddy has some real serious issues, stemming from childhood abuse by his daddy. Annie just tries to be his friend and help him out. To say that Buddy has demons in his head, figuratively, is somewhat of an understatement. Buddy is always seeking advice from Annie cause he is seriously messed up, and you find out why later in the movie. Anyway, Buddy keeps Annie's car running for her and lets her pay later, which really helps Annie out.

Now, Annie is a psychic who see glimpses of the past and the future. She also is a medium. She sees people occassionally from "the other side". While she is outside, Granny stops by (deceased) and tells Annie "A storm is coming." Annie sees a bloddy vision. Granny tells Annie, "Always use your instincts, Annie".

Later, Annie is at a party and accidentally opens a door and sees Jessica getting it on with some guy at a party, but Jessica is preoccupied and doesn't see Annie. When Annie returns home after the party, it is obvious that someone has been in her house. She finds her TV on, bedroom window open, and her reading cards laid out on the bed to spell "SATAN". Now, good-ole-boy Donnie was calling her "witch" and making related comments when he was threatening her before, so she figures it was Donnie. She tells the police but, since the cop and Donnie are squirrel-hunting buddies, the cop says it couldn't be Donnie. Things heat up as Donnie continues to threaten Annie, as Buddy keeps talking about "the blue diamond" and how he hates his daddy, as Jessica keeps ho-ing around, and as Annie keeps reading her cards for people. Annie dreams/visions of being choked. Jessica disappears. Donnie threatens one of Annie's boys on the road and tells him his momma is a witch and somebody might kill her. After Jessica disappears, Annie starts seeing visions of her being dead and she keeps waking up at 1:30 am.

Like I said, twists and turns--I found it very good. I could not walk away for even a minute without hitting the pause button. Gary Cole also plays a prosecutor. The movie is about 2 hours long. I loved it and even though I know what happens, I will still watch it again. The movie was great, both in storyline and performances. June 22, 2008

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