The Gift (2015) – Review

High school can be cruel as we all know. Do you carry your high school days with you when you graduate? Or do you leave it all in the past and hold no grudges? Perhaps you want to seek revenge to those who treated you poorly if given the opportunity. Maybe you weren’t on the receiving end of how brutal school bullies can be. Regardless, we can all say at one point or another: you were the bully, have been bullied, or knew someone who was. Can people change or are some people doomed to repeat the past their entire lives? Last year we were given the movie The Gift, which deals with this type of scenario.

The Gift was directed and written by Joel Edgerton, who also stars in the film and takes us on quite the ride to get a very powerful message across. Since released on August 7th, 2015, it grossed $59 million dollars at the box office and only had a $5 million dollar budget. This movie is loved by critics and movie lovers with a 93% percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, certifying it fresh. Do you know how hard it is to get that high of a rating? Especially since this was Edgerton’s directorial debut.

The story follows married couple Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) as they are moving back to Simon’s home town. They are out shopping when Simon runs into Gordo (Edgarton). Gordon awkwardly goes up to Simon asking if he was the Simon that he went to high school with. Simon says yes, however, claims to not recognize him. Robyn comes down and everyone is introduced. They get Gordo’s phone number with no intention of calling him.

Random gifts and Gordo soon start showing up at their new home. They invite him for dinner, where you can just sense there is something off between Gordo and Simon, so much animosity between the two. Gordo makes a reference that everyone used to play the game “Simon Says,” basically stating that everyone would listen to whatever Simon said. After Gordo leaves, we start to see a not so friendly version of Simon. He says that in high school people use to call him “Gordo the weirdo.” As the two reunite, things become weirder and weirder, and Simon has to wonder if Gordo has an alternative plan. And he does…

What is so scary about this movie is sometimes stuff like this really happens. You can’t treat people like crap and expect them to forget about it. You reap what you sow. The message is loud and clear and very impactful. It has you wondering what you would do in a situation like this and makes you think about times in your past when you were bullied or were possibly the bully.

All of the actors brought their A-game in The Gift. Jason Bateman, as per usual, played his role to perfection. He had his typical cool guy with a sly demeanor going on, but it was fun seeing him in this type of situation. It was nice seeing him in a different role other than just a “funny guy.” As far as Joel Edgerton goes, not only was it amazing that he brought this movie to life, he also played his role as the creepy guy with a troubled past amazingly. He really knows how to build up suspense and have the audience questioning everything. Who really is the villain? And whose side would you be on?

 

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Although The Gift has a slow build up, it’s worth the wait. It’s suspenseful, thrilling, and a complete mind fuck. I love when films have you guessing and questioning the entire time. For me, as disturbing as the ending is, this is truly a gift of a movie genius from 2015.