...not too bad in a gothic whodunit kind of way
The Gift (2001)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:116
Fresh:65
Rotten:51
Average Rating:5.9/10
Consensus: With a reported budget of around 10 million, The Gift is obviously a labor of love for those involved. Unfortunately, the A-list cast can't prevent the movie from becoming a by-the-numbers whodunit with an ending that's all but unsatisfactory.
Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Synopsis: Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchett) is a young widow living in Brixton, Georgia, who does psychic readings. She has a power that allows her to see things her neighbors don't see, and she talks about the... Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchett) is a young widow living in Brixton, Georgia, who does psychic readings. She has a power that allows her to see things her neighbors don't see, and she talks about the things that they try to keep quiet. She eventually stirs up trouble by advising Valerie Barksdale (Hilary Swank) to leave her abusive husband, Donnie (an effectively menacing Keanu Reeves). Donnie chases after Annie and threatens her and her young sons. Then Jessica King (Katie Holmes), a sexually liberated rich girl, disappears, and Annie has visions of a gruesome murder that endanger her own life. THE GIFT is an unusual supernatural thriller. Director Sam Raimi (A SIMPLE PLAN) and DP Jamie Anderson use the huge gnarled trees and foggy swamps of Savannah to create a palpable sense of dread, and Raimi really knows how to jolt an audience. The script, by Billy Bob Thornton (SLING BLADE) and Tom Epperson, has enough twists to keep the audience guessing. Blanchett is very believable, and Giovanni Ribisi gives a heart-wrenching performance as Buddy Cole, a disturbed young man who seeks Annie's counsel. Their relationship gives the film an emotional weight that makes it more than just a good thriller. [More]
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi, Hilary Swank, Keanu Reeves
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi, Hilary Swank, Keanu Reeves, Katie Holmes, Greg Kinnear, Kim Dickens, Gary Cole, Michael Jeter, Danny Elfman, Stuart Greer, Alex Lee, Chelcie Ross, J.K. Simmons
Director: Sam Raimi
Director: Sam Raimi
Screenwriter: Tom Epperson, Billy Bob Thornton
Studio: Paramount Classics
Reviews for The Gift
Once the story chooses its path, a glance downward reveals the ruts worn by the many plot vehicles that have traveled this road before.
This is one of the best films about the supernatural that has come out in recent years, along with "The Others," and "The Sixth Sense.'
The execution really goes through the motions, and all the standard thriller tricks are used.
Brimming with gentility, quiet sadness and weary perseverance, Blanchett's mesmerizing Annie brings to mind the sturdy, often lonely women Sissy Spacek created in movies like "Raggedy Man" and "Marie."
Um filme previsível tanto em relação à sua trama quanto aos seus aspectos técnicos.
Thoughtful and gripping without wallowing in dramatics, it marks another high point in Sam Raimi's strange, but increasingly accomplished film career.
While the Katie Holmes fans have a definite reason to see this movie, everyone else will be bored by a competent but unoriginal supernatural mystery.
This whodunit had many contrivances and they all sapped strength from the film's already rather weak mystery story.
...If I was finally let down by the resolution of The Gift's central mystery, I felt lucky to have had Blanchett, Reeves, and, especially, Ribisi, as escorts.
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