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The Gift

(Joel Edgerton)





With The Gift, Joel Edgerton delivers a thrilling film that manages to subvert the crazy stalker genre just enough to make it memorable. This film showcases the many talents of Edgerton, who not only stars as the weird and desperate Gordo, but also directs, produces and wrote the film.

Married couple Simon and Robyn move from Chicago back to Simon's hometown area. They recently lost a baby due to stress and want to relieve some of that. While back home, Simon is caught off guard by Gordon, an old classmate who wants to strike up a friendship. Simon doesn't seem to keen on it considering Gordon was considered extremely weird back then and comes off as a little socially awkward now. It doesn't matter though because gifts start showing up on their doorstep. When Simon finally decides to put an end to this one way friendship, Gordon doesn't take it so well and the past comes back to haunt.

The film challenges you to look at things a little bit differently. Going into the film, people have preconceived notions that Gordon is some psycho hellbent on destroying this family. Yet nothing is as it seems in The Gift and Edgerton peels away at the layers of this clever story bit by bit. Revealing what needs to be revealed exactly when it should be. He has complete control over every aspect of this film and showcases a talent that hopefully is explored further down his career.

Edgerton gives himself the Gordon role and plays it extremely fragile. The moment you see the guy you feel sorry for him. He manages to layer the performance with a hint of something sinister, this is mainly due to his eyes. I have to assume he was wearing contacts because the eyes give off a 'deadness' that just doesn't seem natural to me. One scene has him inviting Simon, played by Bateman and Robyn, played by Rebecca Hall, over to his place for dinner. Just as they arrive to his big and gorgeous place, he tells them he needs to leave for a work related emergency and will be back before they know it. Upon his return, the distrust and annoyance from Bateman is clear. Gordon's been caught in a lie, he didn't leave for a work related emergency, but he manages to craft a story in its place. Is he telling the truth? Who knows, but that dead cold stare he gives before he tells it is somewhat unnerving. He could be thinking anything; how do I kill these people? What story do I come up with? Or is it a sense of hurt and shamefulness due to his current life conditions? Edgerton gives a sad and apathetic performance that makes you question whether or not you are on this guy's side.

Bateman is typical in his films. He plays cynicism well and does so here. He has a controlling nature about him and employs it to the relationship with his wife, Hall. You can only be so nice to someone before you have to be mean and Simon wants nothing to do with Gordon, but why? Is he really that harmful? Robyn doesn't think so and this creates conflict between the two of them. Does Simon know who Gordon really is, or is he hiding something? A good dynamic to have in a film like this.

By the end of the film, despite extremely obvious wrongdoings, I knew whose side I was on, even if the film wants it to be a difficult choice. Edgerton has a bright directing career ahead of him if he can keep it up to this level. A smart thriller that doesn't treat the audience members as idiots is rare these days and The Gift is, for an eye rolling ending to this review, a gift to the audience.