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Movies / On DVD / The Gift
The Gift

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The Gift (2001)

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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

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Gift

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21 - 40 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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...not too bad in a gothic whodunit kind of way

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
10/30/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan | comment Comment
10/21/02
Jean Lowerison
Jean Lowerison
San Diego Metropolitan
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
10/15/02
Margaret A. McGurk
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
09/26/02
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
New York Magazine
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment Comment
09/10/02
Kevin N. Laforest
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal

Once the story chooses its path, a glance downward reveals the ruts worn by the many plot vehicles that have traveled this road before.

Full Review Source: Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) | comment Comment
08/22/02
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

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.'

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
08/04/02
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

The execution really goes through the motions, and all the standard thriller tricks are used.

Full Review Source: Window to the Movies | comment Comment
07/12/02
Jeffrey Chen
Jeffrey Chen
Window to the Movies

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."

Full Review Source: Kalamazoo Gazette | comment Comment
06/10/02
James Sanford
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/02
Paul Clinton (CNN.com)
Paul Clinton (CNN.com)
Boxoffice Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Um filme previsível tanto em relação à sua trama quanto aos seus aspectos técnicos.

Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | comment Comment
05/30/02
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
03/24/02
Boston Phoenix
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
03/22/02
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In lesser hands, this film would have been pretty bad.

Full Review Source: Goatdog's Movies | comment Comment
02/28/02
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Goatdog's Movies

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
11/27/01
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
10/30/01
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons

Thoughtful and gripping without wallowing in dramatics, it marks another high point in Sam Raimi's strange, but increasingly accomplished film career.

Full Review Source: Flipside Movie Emporium | comment Comment
10/24/01
Rob Vaux
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium

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.

Full Review Source: Radio Free Entertainment | comment Comment
09/30/01
Andrew Manning
Andrew Manning
Radio Free Entertainment

This whodunit had many contrivances and they all sapped strength from the film's already rather weak mystery story.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
07/25/01
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

...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.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
07/20/01
Bill Chambers
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central
 
 
21 - 40 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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