When I first saw a preview for The Gift, I thought "Man, that looks like a piece of shit." Well, 93% on Rotten Tomatoes later, here I am eating my words.
The Gift is the directorial debut of chameleon-like actor Joel Edgerton, and it proves to be a taut and twisty thriller. It has some flaws, which I will go into detail about at the bottom of this entry in a spoiler area. If you want to go into the film knowing nothing (which I recommend), rest assured that it's quality entertainment. It's not exactly The Godfather, but it's a really fun movie.
The film stars Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall as a married couple who move from Chicago to California (where Bateman's character, Simon, grew up) and get one of those mid-century homes that has a lot of giant windows and glass. Well, you can tell right away that living in a fucking glass house won't lead to anything good. Simon works at some kind of fancy technology company and makes a boatload of money. His wife, Robyn, is an interior designer who works from home and tries to maintain a stress-free lifestyle since she and Simon want to conceive and it becomes clear they had trouble doing so in Chicago.
At a home goods store, the couple runs into Gordon ("Gordo") Moseley (played by Edgerton), who knew Simon in high school. Simon doesn't recognize him at first, but then remembers him and some pleasantries are exchanged and a promise to get together for dinner is made. If Gordo was a normal person, he would probably never follow up and Simon and Robyn would never see the dude again. But Gordo's a bit of a socially-awkward weirdo (his high school nickname was the rather uncreative "Gordo the Weirdo") and he starts sending the couple very nice gifts and showing up at the house while Simon's at work. Robyn eventually invites him to dinner, where Gordo talks about how the bad things in life can be a gift and won't shut up about his and Simon's high school and the people they knew there. Simon is, unsurprisingly, weirded out. Especially when Gordo continues to contact the couple.
Spoilers below
It's probably no surprise, but Simon was a bully in high school who made up a rumor about Gordo that literally destroyed Gordo's life. Because of the rumor, Gordon was bullied, beat up, pulled out of his high school, and suffered violent wrath from his father. He went on to join the military, only to be discharged, and generally became a fuck up in his adult life.
What's great is how perfectly Jason Bateman plays this role. For the first half of the movie, you're 100% on his side, even when he makes fun of Gordo to his wife. When he confronts Gordo and essentially "breaks up" with him, you think "Yeah, this Simon guy is a strong, forthright man. He's mature. He's an adult." But when Robyn learns about his past and confronts him, he believably morphs right back into a bully: treating her like a child who needs to mind her own business, being completely unrepentant in his torment of Gordo, etc. Bateman plays an asshole so well!
The biggest flaw in this film is the big twist at the end (of course there's a big twist at the end). Not only is it over the top and melodramatic, it also effectively disempowers Robyn, turning her into a plot device to further the story of the two men--Gordo and Simon. Up until the very end, The Gift is a quality thriller that plays with the idea of right and wrong really well. But the end, and Simon's comeuppance, turns the film into a slightly ridiculous Greek tragedy.
End spoilers
Despite its flaws, The Gift is a very entertaining film. Probably nothing you'll watch twice, but a fun night at the movies. All the main actors, particularly Jason Bateman, do a wonderful job of creating and then upending audience expectations.
Grade: B+
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