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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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101 - 120 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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You can't escape the feeling that everyone involved deserved something better.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
01/18/01
Philip Wuntch
Philip Wuntch
Dallas Morning News

An acceptably suspenseful, watchable Southern Gothic whodunit.

Full Review Source: Mr. Showbiz | comment Comment
01/18/01
Cody Clark
Cody Clark
Mr. Showbiz

An example of how superior craftsmanship can transform a ho-hum genre entry into a sporadically gripping thriller.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/18/01
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

Anchored by Cate Blanchett’s persuasive turn as a widow who reads tarot cards to make ends meet, Sam Raimi’s psychological thriller generates far more suspense than most of its ilk.

Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
01/18/01
Todd Anthony
Todd Anthony
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

A well-told murder mystery.

Full Review Source: Citysearch | comment Comment
01/18/01
Sean O'Connell
Sean O'Connell
Citysearch

Within its limits, it has rock-solid craftsmanship and a dream cast that may be better than the material.

comment Comment
01/18/01
Michael Wilmington
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune

[Blanchett's] grounded intelligence and subtle craft holds the movie together even at its most overheated.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
01/18/01
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A muddled thriller, filled with tired clichés and some of the worst casting in years.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/18/01
Norm Schrager
Norm Schrager
Filmcritic.com

Like getting a Crackerjacks prize in a Tiffany box.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
01/18/01
Laura Clifford
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews

A middling entry for Raimi that is, disappointingly, a conventional whodunit coupled with supernatural power.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
01/18/01
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

A disappointingly predictable psychic whodunit with a script so pedestrian it feels like an albatross around the necks of its marquee pedigree players.

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
01/18/01
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

A creepily effective button-pusher.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
01/17/01
J. Hoberman
J. Hoberman
Village Voice

By-the-numbers direction of The Gift reduces a potentially involving story of the paranormal to utter predictability.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
01/16/01
Bob Aulert
Bob Aulert
culturevulture.net

While this movie has none of the power of [Raimi's] last film, A Simple Plan, he knows how to get his audience on the edge of its collective seat.

Full Review Source: Phantom Tollbooth | comment Comment
01/16/01
J. Robert Parks
J. Robert Parks
Phantom Tollbooth

Blanchett's acting alone is enough to recommend the movie.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
01/10/01
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

While not precisely the cinematic equivalent of a lump of coal in our collective stocking, this isn't precisely what we wanted.

comment Comment
12/22/00
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
TNT's Rough Cut

While the film overall is more concerned with mounting menace than edge-of-your-seat shocks, it delivers a couple of stunners.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
12/21/00
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

The scary-movie score and taut editing give the audience a lot of popcorn thrills, but the movie resonates at all because of the deeper, more moving concerns at its core.

comment Comment
12/21/00
Ernest Hardy
Ernest Hardy
Film.com

Just the right mix of thriller and soap opera.

Full Review Source: Greenwich Village Gazette | comment Comment
12/21/00
Eric Lurio
Eric Lurio
Greenwich Village Gazette

The bottom line ... is that cheap and unoriginal as The Gift may be, it sucks you in.

comment Comment
12/21/00
Luke Y. Thompson
Luke Y. Thompson
New Times
 
 
101 - 120 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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