 | The Gift Starring: Cate Blanchett, Keanu Reeves, Katie Holmes, Hillary Swank, Greg Kinnar |
"The Gift" is a fine piece of filmmaking by Sam Raimi. This southern gothic thriller is done with a haunting style, surprising plot twists, and supported with a fine cast, in particular, Cate Blanchett. Blanchett's superb performance as the widowed mother of three boys is enough to recommend the film. Raimi remains focused throughout the well-written movie and delivers an impressive murder yarn until the last 15 minutes, when he starts to telegraph the identity of the real murderer. A bit more care at the end would have resulted in an almost perfect film. Set in the small southern town of Brixton, Georgia, Annie Wilson (Blanchett) supports her family with her fortune telling talents. We are introduced to Annie as a card reading psychic who tends to give sensible advice to her customers. Valerie Barksdale (Swank) is one such customer, who Annie advises to leave her abusive, womanizing husband, Donnie (Reeves). This advice is not taken, resulting in Valerie getting one hell of a beating. The audience gets little hint of Annie's hidden talent until well into the film when she meets the fiance of the kindly school principal, Wayne Collins (Kinnar). When Annie meets this woman, Jessica King (Katie Holmes), she experiences an unsettling vision of her death. Raimi directs this scene with an eerie cinematic feel that conveys pure malevolence to the viewer. Annie shakes the apparition off, but the young Katie Holmes soon goes missing. When Annie helps the police find the drowned body, Donnie Barksdale, the town bastard, is immediately arrested. A subsequent trial proves that he was having a fling with the dead woman. When Donnie is convicted of murder, Annie begins to wonder and the film wastes little time in putting the audience deep into a murder mystery employing Annie in the role of a somewhat supernatural detective. As the film becomes more involved, cinematographer Jaime Anderson keeps the look of the movie hauntingly dark. Keanu Reeves gives a powerful performance as the very unlikeable and violent Donnie. Blanchett again proves that she is one of the most talented young actors on the big screen today. I would highly recommend this film for its spooky suspense, excellent writing, clever sub plots and brilliant performances. Raimi has given us a well-done cinematic gift. |