The Gift is a slow burn suspense picture with complex characters, an original idea, and at times, hold-your-breath tension. It’s a solid execution of of an off-beat story that will keep you enticed and unsure of what to believe the entire time. Director, writer and star Joel Edgerton aimed to make it hard for you to pick someone to side with by making all of the characters complex. Simon (Jason Bateman) is the obvious good guy candidate, but he has a pin drop temper, a bully attitude, and he’s dishonest. His wife Robyn (Rebecca Hall) isn’t without her faults either, as she proves to be more than what meets the eye whilst her family descends into chaos. Gordo (Edgerton), though socially awkward and seemingly harmless, is a bomb that has been dropped into the lives of Robyn and Simon, and he is hard to decisively call good or bad.
Simon and Robyn have just moved into a new area when Gordon comes into their lives. Let stop here and make a note that I’m tired of suspense and horror films starting out with someone moving to a new place. It’s blatantly overused and I’m beginning to think that it’s an automatic assumption, when one is writing a horror/suspense film, that it must start with the main characters making a move of some sort. Why do you have to be in a new house? Why can’t the demons and the ghosts just start to appear in the house they’ve been in forever? To me that’s scarier, but I digress. Though this film commits this cinema sin, I’ll forgive it. Gordo runs into Simon and Robyn while they’re shopping, and the revelation comes about that he and Simon went to grade school together. There’s nothing about the exchange that is unusual, although it is awkward and rushed. The group agrees to meet again over dinner, and a relationship begins to form. The following meeting is uncomfortable, and after he’s left, Simon verbally abuses Gordo about his lack of social skills and general oddness. Robyn seems to have pity for Gordo and is clearly softer spoken than Simon, who here begins to stand out as unkind and needlessly harsh.
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The couple begins to receive gifts from Gordo on their doorstep. They receive wine and other goodies, each gift accompanied by short, friendly notes from Gordo. These scenes made for some visually interesting shots. The gifts he leaves are wrapped in shiny, brightly colored paper, and are set on a grey front porch. The color difference is surprisingly off putting, similar to the way a kids’ song over a horror movie is. Soon, he begins to stop by the house for uninvited visits when Robyn is home alone. She isn’t threatened by the intrusions and treats Gordo like a friend when he visits, but it is clear that he doesn’t know where social boundaries lie, and Simon is less than thrilled about his visits and frequent gifts. The tension comes to a boil when Gordo invites the pair to another dinner and Simon finally reveals tells Gordo in no uncertain terms to leave them alone. Robyn is uncomfortable with Simon’s behavior, and if it wasn’t before, it’s now clear that their marriage isn’t an open one. By the time the couple leaves, it feels like she is owned by Simon. After the dinner, Robyn begins feeling scared in house when she’s alone, and the pair realize that Gordo may not be as harmless as he seemed. Robyn begins to wonder if Gordo was motivated by something that Simon did in their past, and with some digging uncovers a cruel truth about their grade school days. Robyn becomes pregnant and her fears of Gordo and suffocation in her marriage come to a peak. She is finally able to convince Simon to try apologize to Gordo. Gordo is out to finish what he started, however, and won’t stop until his revenge is still incomplete. The film concludes with the family is in disarray, Simon emotionally and professionally ruined, and Gordo, his work done, gone from their lives.
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The best thing about The Gift was the character development. Simon, especially, was very muti-layered and emotionally conflicted. Jason Bateman played him very convincingly; Simon is unable to face his past and is desperate for control. Robyn was also a complex character. She is torn all throughout the film between Simon the seemingly well-meaning Gordo. She has found herself in an unsuccessful marriage with a man who is a bully and the father of her unborn child. Gordo offers her someone who will listen and not patronize her, but she comes to be keenly aware of Simon’s offences against Gordo and the danger his retaliation poses to them both. Gordo is a man with a plan, but he is mysterious and isn’t clearly established as actively trying to gain revenge until near the end. He is never shown actually doing anything harmful to the couple. The subtle worsening of Robyn and Simon’s relationship is also well executed. At times, the possibility of love seems to hang over Robyn and Gordo’s friendship, a sign of Robyn drifting away from Simon.
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The progression of The Gift is exciting and unexpected. As Simon’s true self is revealed, Gordo becomes much more sympathetic, but this happens as he reaches his ultimate, thoughtful, and shocking revenge, which makes him the technical antagonist. The ending is absolutely chilling and somehow satisfying, since by then, there is no saving Simon’s character and Gordo has solidified his position as the most likeable character, despite his chilling revenge plot. Edgerton smartly avoided what would have been a cheesy, ridiculous happy ending. Instead, the only acceptable conclusion to the story brings the film to a close, leaving you with a chill down your spine. You’ll suddenly want to think back to your own childhood and hope that, in your searching, you don’t realize that you might have a Gordo in your life, too. 8/10.