Intuitions

Having seen this film several times and never remembering the composer of the score, I decided to look it up at IMDb. While here, I decided to check out the various user reviews. And I was kind of surprised at the "love it or hate it" division.

I'm mainly surprised that anyone thought it was "typical" Hollywood pap or that it was slow moving, labored or simply so-so.

Maybe you just have to like Sam Raimi to enjoy this. I couldn't help but appreciate the fact the style and many elements were a lot like "Evil Dead 1 & 2", but more subtle and refined. Sam obviously made the most of the camera angles, scenery and lighting for specific reasons...the general "darkness" of the town versus the "light" surrounding Cate(the only one who could see the truth).

Maybe some didn't see a lot of the dark humor or appreciate the fine acting with non-stereotypical southern accents by all, especially Cate.

This is a film well worth repeated viewings.

In a small town deep in the South, a single mother endowed with a special ability becomes involved with the disappearance of a young woman and has a brush with the supernatural, in `The Gift,' directed by Sam Raimi. Cate Blanchett stars as Annie Wilson, a young widow attempting to raise her three kids and provide a decent life for her family, scraping out a living on Social Security since the tragic death of her husband in a work related accident the previous year. She supplements her meager income by doing `readings' for the local townsfolk, accepting their donations for the insights she offers them into their own lives. Annie has a `gift,' the ability to see certain things in the cards that enables her to advise her clients about personal issues. It's something she can't explain; she knows only that it's inherited (which she learned from her grandmother), and that it's real. And though it's helped her maintain her home, she soon finds that it doesn't always make for the most pleasant of situations, as when she must advise a young woman, Valerie Barksdale (Hilary Swank), on how to cope with her abusive husband, Donnie (Keanu Reeves), or attempt to help a troubled young man, Buddy Cole (Giovanni Ribisi) come to terms with some sensitive aspects of his life. Then, when a client comes to her to ask for help when his daughter disappears, not only does it take her to the dark side of the human experience, she discovers that certain individuals, including local sheriff Pearl Johnson (J.K. Simmons) do not believe that her `gift' is real.

Stylistically crafted and delivered, Raimi's film will keep you engrossed and on the edge of your seat until the very end. He successfully blends reality with just a touch of the supernatural that makes for riveting suspense while keeping it within the realm of believability. The relationship played out between Donnie and Valerie is anything but unique-- you've seen this before, many times in many films-- but within the context of this story it's fresh and it works. The doubtful sheriff and the cynical, jaded defense attorney, Gerald Weems (Michael Jeter), are fairly stereotypical, but that can be easily overlooked in light of the overall story and especially due to the credibility of the Annie character, which is well developed and never presented as anything beyond what can be readily accepted as true to life. As the central character, Annie anchors the film and enables the circumstances in which she is involved to be perceived as real; it's the strength of the film, and it's what makes it all work so well.

What also makes it work is the strong performance by Cate Blanchett, who makes Annie so real and accessible, displaying her `gift' with restraint and avoiding the possible pitfall of taking it too far over the edge, which could easily have made it suspect. Instead, she brings a depth to the character that draws you into her world and allows you to empathize with her, which would have been impossible had she invested Annie with even a touch of the charlatan. With consummate skill, Blanchett creates a well rounded character which demonstrates that as an actor, she definitely has a very real `gift' of her own.

Ribisi also does a memorable turn as Buddy, with a striking performance in which he creates some disturbing moments that are almost painful to watch; his is a character study of a soul in distress, seeking solace and resolution, and even as he attempts to sort out his life, you are able to sympathize with his plight as you share Buddy's experiences. And it's through Buddy (as well as Annie, of course), that the audience is able to make that necessary and very real connection with the film. With films like `Saving Private Ryan' and now this one, Ribisi is on his way to establishing himself as one of the premiere character actors in the business today.

Playing somewhat against type, Reeves proves that he can be a good `bad' guy, giving possibly one of his best performances ever as Donnie. He very credibly conveys that sense of explosiveness lying just beneath the surface that makes his character menacing and dark, which in turn makes Donnie psychologically as well as physically threatening. It's a good job by Reeves, who deserves credit for taking on a role that is so disagreeable and insensitive.

The supporting cast includes Greg Kinnear (Wayne), Katie Holmes (Jessica), Kim Dickens (Linda), Gary Cole (David) and Rosemary Harris (Annie's Granny). A taut thriller that is emotionally involving, `The Gift' delivers what it promises early on, which is exceptional, as many films of this nature often fail to actually follow through after a tremendous opening act. Rest assured, this one does and has it all; suspense, credibility and some memorable moments, all courtesy of Raimi, a good story and a superb cast. And that's the magic of the movies. I rate this one 9/10.

Firstly I need to say this isn't a horror. It's a thriller. Also it's not a fantasy movie so both of those tags should be ignored.

That doesn't mean it isn't a good movie. What's particularly good is how some of the actors play roles that ho against their usual character types.

Without a doubt Giovanni Ribissi steals the movie and plays his part perfectly.

Recommended.

Jessica King (Katie Holmes), the fiancée of Wayne Collins (Greg Kinnear), has gone missing. Annabelle Wilson (Cate Blanchett) is the local psychic who has visions of Jessica King. Following her advise, Sheriff Pearl Johnson (J.K. Simmons) dredges the swamp and finds Jessica's body. Donnie Barksdale (Keanu Reeves) is jailed for the murder. However, Annabelle keeps getting visions. There's more to the murder.

Director Sam Raimi has teamed up with Billy Bob Thornton once again and this time as a writer. Cate Blanchett is terrific. There is an overload of big time actors. I almost wish that some of the lesser roles get played by smaller unknown actors. When it's overloaded like this, the movie can feel very Hollywood. However Blanchett never once feels fake in any way. She becomes the character with ease.

Sam Raimi has a bit of folklore to him, at least in t horror movie circles. His story with Evil Dead is one that tells us that if you really believe in what you are doing and have an undeniable passion for it, you can succeed with an indie. Evil Dead was that film for Raimi. Now that he has bigger budgets and better casts, one could expect him to fail, but with terrific films like A Simple Plan and now this one, he proves that he does possess a gift as a film maker. The Gift takes him back to his roots as a horror director and he doesn't disappoint. The Gift is a tight, tense film with some questionable weakly written court room scenes, but take that away and you have a very effective thriller.

The Gift has an all star ensemble cast that takes everything they are given and shines with it. Cate Blanchet is awesome to watch as the small town clairvoyant that some people look upon with utter reverance and others disregard as nothing more than a Satan worshipper. Keanu Reeves is very effective as a wife abusing husband and Hilary Swank, Katie Holmes, Greg Kinnear, Giovanni Ribisi and Gary Cole are all very good in their roles. I especially liked Reeves as the wicked wife beater. I grew to hate his character and not just because he was a wife beater, but because he was such a smug, "I'm above the law" wife beater. I like seeing the smaller and perhaps more challenging roles Reeves is taking in between his billion dollar turn as Neo.

When a local town aristocratic beauty disappears, all fingers point towards Reeves as the murderer. He was having an affair with the girl, he has a violent temper, and he has scratch marks all over him from her and most importantly she was found dead in his swamp on his property. That is pretty compelling evidence against him. Also, Annie, the clairvoyant had visions about her whereabouts being located on his property. But soon after his impending incarceration, Annie begins to have other thoughts. She thinks the wrong man has been put away and now she fears that the real killer is going to come after her.

What The Gift benefits from, besides great performances, is tight direction. Raimi shows us here why it is that he got his start as a horror director. There are at least half a dozen scenes that are tense and frightening. When Annie is having her visions of death and sees dead women in trees and in bathtubs and such, there are collective gasps of fear in the audience. And when she is visited by ghosts or visions of people, you feel the heart race a little faster. This is not to say that the film is flawless because it's not. The flaws come from the writing of the court case where there is so much heresay and such that any good lawyer would have jumped all over the defense's case. When a man is being tried for murder and your defense is questioning how you came to know where the body was, they are two different issues. Why does it matter if an elephant told you where the body was or if you happened to fish it out of the pond with a crane. The point is that the body was there and it was on the accused's property and the accused had scratch marks on his arm from the deceased. That in my book is a pretty simple case. I was disappointed with how Thorton wrote the court room scenes but that is about all I was disappointed with.

The Gift is not one of the best horror films I've ever seen, but it is an enjoyable one and if I had to compare it to another similar one to it, I would have to say that this was better than What Lies Beneath. I think Zemekis is a great director but Raimi just has that certain intangible quality about him. He can make suspense out of something when perhaps there is none there. This is worth seeing and if you are a horror fan or just like a few thrills in your film, this'll keep you entertained.

8 out of 10- a good creepy horror film with a few genuine scares and a plethora of great performances.