If you've been watching the commercials and trailers for THE GIFT and think it's about a guy from Simon's (Jason Bateman) past who comes back to stalk him, that's good, because that's not what the film about at all, and you'll probably be pleasantly surprised about what it actually is. The film comes courtesy of actor and co-star Joel Edgerton, who wrote and directed THE GIFT, in which he plays Gordo, who is in fact a slightly weird guy who knew Simon in high school. The two were never close, not in the conventional sense, but they did change each other's lives at the time. Simon and his wife Robyn (Rebecca Hall) have just moved to LA, and they run into Gordo in a store. Before long, he's at their door with a welcome gift, and he keeps showing up at their home day after day until it becomes rather awkward.
While Simon heads to his new job day after day, Robyn is busy arranging the house. It becomes clear that there are many other reasons the two moved to town beyond Simon's work and one of them has to do with a stress-induced miscarriage that Robyn had, so it's established early that her suspicions and paranoia might be the result of her tendency toward anxiety, rather than having any basis in reality. But she seems pretty certain that the history that Simon and Gordo have is more than as passing acquaintances in high school. And while it may appear that Gordo possesses the creep factor in the early part of the film, Edgerton's smart script does an impressive flip as Robyn digs into their shared past.
THE GIFT is a skillfully moody and tense work that turns into an examination of how long people hold onto past hurts. It's also very much a work about the long-term psychological damage of bullying. I'm not saying it isn't also about being entertaining and changing our ideas about what constitutes good people and bad people, but it's far more complicated that simply having Mr. Creepy stalk this lovely couple. Edgerton is too smart to produce something that cut and dry, and the result is flawed but still impressive.
The film brings in an interesting and impressive array of supporting players, including Busy Phillips, Allison Tolman, Katie Aselton, David Denman and Wendell Pierce as various neighbors, family members and police, but does very little with them to enhance the film, with the exception of Tolman as Simon and Robyn's next-door neighbor, who at least makes an impression as the closest person Robyn has to a confidante. Although not the first time he's done it, it's nice to see Bateman stretch himself as an actor, playing both the good husband and transitioning into something less so, something more controlling and sinister. The comedic baggage that Bateman brings with him to any role works as a great misdirect for this story.
The film's final act stumbles a bit, when a scenario presents itself that involves Robyn getting pregnant again, and everyone having to worry again about her anxiety levels right around the time when concerns about Gordo as a threat come to a head. As a writer, Edgerton has given us great throwback thrillers like The Square and Felony, which are more crime dramas than genre films. THE GIFT reminds me of practically every FATAL ATTRACTION rip off of the early 1990s; think PACIFIC HEIGHTS or SINGLE WHITE FEMALE. But Edgerton attempt to offer up a (mostly) reasonable explanation as to why someone might fixate the way Gordo does. He's also not afraid to play with the tools of these type of films to tell his story, mislead us, and steer us in unexpected directions.
It may or may not surprise you to learn that one of THE GIFT's producers is Jason Blum, which is also something of a sly trick since it would lead you to believe the film fits easily into the horror persuasion, where it certainly does not belong. If you give the movie a chance, you'll find it to be a smart, edgy piece with a great undercurrent of a message about the damage that we do to other people when we're young simply because we can. Don't be surprised if your allegiances shift and you still manage to have a great time being fully entertained.
