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Gifted, 2017
Frank (Chris Evans) lives in Florida, where he is raising his 7 year old niece, Mary (McKenna Grace) with the help of his neighbor, Roberta (Octavia Spencer). But Mary isn't your typical first grader: she is a math prodigy. And when Frank clashes with the school over her education, Mary's abilities land on the radar of her grandmother, Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan), who takes Frank to court over custody.
I thought that this film was really good and very heartwarming. While I thought that some of its portrayals of schools and the custody process were a little iffy at times, it stays very grounded in the relationship dynamics of the characters.
The best element of the film in terms of its success is the very natural and winning chemistry between Evans and Grace. Their rapport is, of course, "movie dialogue", but their affection and comfort with each other is very believable. In particular, the writing for the character of Mary is a real cut above the way that children (and especially precocious children) are so often written. Mary is not obnoxious or too adult sounding. She is certainly different in ways that her uncle can see and appreciate, but also fear on her behalf.
I also really liked that the film landed just on the right side of how it portrayed the conflict between Frank and Evelyn. Don't get me wrong: Evelyn is clearly the villain of the piece. She only wants Mary because of her math potential. Mary's mother died of suicide, and there is no doubt that it's because of the pressure placed on her by Evelyn. At the same time, however, Frank's approach to raising Mary is flawed. While Evelyn wants to exploit Mary's abilities, Frank wants to hide them. The problem is something that Evelyn's lawyer is actually correct about: putting a genius-level child into a first grade classroom is cruelty. It is torture. Expecting a child to go 7 hours a day without real intellectual stimulation is not appropriate or kind. (I was actually most bothered by the revelation that Frank has no health insurance for Mary.)
Working in a school and tangentially seeing a lot of custody disputes play out, I of course have several nitpicks about what was portrayed on that front. But it does stay within a reasonable range, and as I said before, these plot pieces are mainly used to illuminate the relationships between the characters.
Both Chris Evans and Octavia Spencer are such warm actors. It is so easy to believe in them as good, decent people and to root for them and their interests. I also found McKenna Grace as Mary really endearing and fun. (I would be loathe to leave out Fred the one-eyed cat, an excellent supporting character). There are plenty of warm fuzzies to have watching this movie, and it's just the kind of film that I don't mind when they play rousing string music over characters doing something important and noble. (Look, I would watch a whole movie that just consisted of Chris Evans rescuing cats from animal shelters).
Overall this was (and I mean this as a compliment) a really nice movie. It was a great way to start my Sunday, and also a surprisingly insightful look at what it means to raise and care for a gifted child. I think that this movies accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do and then some.
Gifted, 2017
Frank (Chris Evans) lives in Florida, where he is raising his 7 year old niece, Mary (McKenna Grace) with the help of his neighbor, Roberta (Octavia Spencer). But Mary isn't your typical first grader: she is a math prodigy. And when Frank clashes with the school over her education, Mary's abilities land on the radar of her grandmother, Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan), who takes Frank to court over custody.
I thought that this film was really good and very heartwarming. While I thought that some of its portrayals of schools and the custody process were a little iffy at times, it stays very grounded in the relationship dynamics of the characters.
The best element of the film in terms of its success is the very natural and winning chemistry between Evans and Grace. Their rapport is, of course, "movie dialogue", but their affection and comfort with each other is very believable. In particular, the writing for the character of Mary is a real cut above the way that children (and especially precocious children) are so often written. Mary is not obnoxious or too adult sounding. She is certainly different in ways that her uncle can see and appreciate, but also fear on her behalf.
I also really liked that the film landed just on the right side of how it portrayed the conflict between Frank and Evelyn. Don't get me wrong: Evelyn is clearly the villain of the piece. She only wants Mary because of her math potential. Mary's mother died of suicide, and there is no doubt that it's because of the pressure placed on her by Evelyn. At the same time, however, Frank's approach to raising Mary is flawed. While Evelyn wants to exploit Mary's abilities, Frank wants to hide them. The problem is something that Evelyn's lawyer is actually correct about: putting a genius-level child into a first grade classroom is cruelty. It is torture. Expecting a child to go 7 hours a day without real intellectual stimulation is not appropriate or kind. (I was actually most bothered by the revelation that Frank has no health insurance for Mary.)
Working in a school and tangentially seeing a lot of custody disputes play out, I of course have several nitpicks about what was portrayed on that front. But it does stay within a reasonable range, and as I said before, these plot pieces are mainly used to illuminate the relationships between the characters.
Both Chris Evans and Octavia Spencer are such warm actors. It is so easy to believe in them as good, decent people and to root for them and their interests. I also found McKenna Grace as Mary really endearing and fun. (I would be loathe to leave out Fred the one-eyed cat, an excellent supporting character). There are plenty of warm fuzzies to have watching this movie, and it's just the kind of film that I don't mind when they play rousing string music over characters doing something important and noble. (Look, I would watch a whole movie that just consisted of Chris Evans rescuing cats from animal shelters).
Overall this was (and I mean this as a compliment) a really nice movie. It was a great way to start my Sunday, and also a surprisingly insightful look at what it means to raise and care for a gifted child. I think that this movies accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do and then some.