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List Price: $12.98 | | Label: Paramount
Salesrank: 11500
Released: July 17, 2001 |
| Our Price: $3.89 |
| Used Price: $0.78 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Small town fortuneteller has visions of missing local girl.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 10-JAN-2006
Media Type: DVD
Description of The Gift:
Take a pinch of psychic phenomenon, add a dash of Southern gothic, stir in a sharp cast of talented actors, and you'll come up with The Gift, director Sam Raimi's ingenious gumbo of a thriller. It doesn't hold together as well as Raimi's earlier A Simple Plan, but the two films are stylistically connected--The Gift was cowritten (with Tom Epperson) by A Simple Plan's costar, Billy Bob Thornton, who in turn draws from the Deep South milieu that informed his own Sling Blade and his earlier collaboration with Epperson, One False Move. A similar sense of mystery permeates The Gift, in which a small-town Georgia psychic (perfectly played by Cate Blanchett) is tormented by tragic loss and visions connected to the murder of a local vamp (Katie Holmes) whose schoolteacher fiancé (Greg Kinnear) is a prime suspect.
Other suspects include a hot-tempered bully (Keanu Reeves) whose battered wife (Hilary Swank) is one of the psychic's regular clients, and a traumatized local (Giovanni Ribisi) who is tenuously stabilized by therapy and antidepressants. While this trio of potential killers keeps the mystery alive, the requisite red herrings don't add much to the film's low-level suspense. Instead, Raimi is far more effective in creating an atmosphere of anxious dread that wells up from each of these finely drawn characters, starting with the widow psychic's extended mourning for her lost husband, the agonized terror of a beaten wife, and the percolating anger of a cuckolded spouse. All of this makes The Gift a worthy showcase for its esteemed cast, even as its plot twists grow increasingly familiar. --Jeff Shannon
The Gift Reviews:
Poor Video Quality 
2009-09-25 - I won't go into detail about the movie as there are plenty of reviews about it already. What I don't see however, are reviews about the quality of the film itself visually wise. Even though this movie is large enough that it is distributed in a dual layer DVD disc, the quality of the film is atrocious. There is not a single clear picture in the film. This may be the reason why this film is not offered on blu-ray. Would earn a full 5 stars if it weren't for the video quality.
Great Great Movie 
2009-09-18 - Great cast.Great director-Sam Raimi.Great story.Some of the other reviews here will give you the details.
'Gift' Courtesy of Katie Holmes 
2009-07-25 - Annie (Cate Blanchett) is a widowed mother with three sons to support. In order to make ends meet she reads the futures of residents in her Southern town. Among her regular clients are an abused wife (Hilary Swank) and an unstable man (Giovanni Ribisi) living in paralyzing fear of his father. Annie has her share of enemies and skeptics, the worst being a man named Donnie Barksdale (Keanu Reeves). Donnie is the abusive husband who soon redirects his anger towards Annie and her kids. Things are just as volatile at the boy's school where the oldest is always getting into fights. A concerned teacher (Greg Kinnear) reaches out to Annie to offer support. He is engaged to a young woman (Katie Holmes) whose father is a local businessman. When Annie pays him a visit she meets his fiancee. She receives a troubling vision regarding the girl but keeps it to herself. The next day the girl goes missing and both the teacher and the police appeal to Annie to read for them, hoping to find out what happened to her. As the police search for her, Annie continues to be haunted by visions that grow more violent. The film is stylishly directed by Sam Raimi and the script is co written by Billy Bob Thornton. The performances are solid with Blanchett excelling as Annie. Swank, Kinnear, and Ribisi provide solid supporting work. Holmes lays on her Southern drawl pretty thick but there's no denying she looks good doing it. Future 'Spider Man' alums Rosemary Harris and J.K. Simmons provide memorable turns in smaller roles. 'The Gift' is a well made piece of Southern Gothic.
Great Acting in a Murder Mystery
2009-04-14 - When you first begin watching this movie, you may be thinking this isn't going to be a very good movie or this isn't your kind of movie, that's what I thought at first. You've got to give it a chance though, it's slow to start but eventually becomes an edge of your seat thrilling mystery. The acting in the movie is great, normally the movies with a lot of stars aren't well put together and the acting looks bad but not in this movie. This movie was well written and well played out. It was interesting to learn upon watching the special features this movie was written partially by Billy Bob Thorton. This movie brings out the best in some actors and actresses, specifically Keanu Reeves.
Don't let the certain terms used to describe this movie fool you into thinking this is just a horror movie or movie about some tarrot card reader because it's far more than that and the story goes much deeper.
Last but not least there is an added bonus for us guys, particulary the guys who like beatiful & sexy women and that would be the topless scene with Katie Holmes.
Overall I give the movie an A.
SAM RAIMI YOU SIR ARE EXCELLENT
2009-04-03 - THE GIFT
It's no secret that I am a huge Sam Raimi fan as well as a fan of his producing partner Rob Tapert, so the question is why did I wait so long to review this wonderful movie? To be honest I have no idea why I waited but now that I have learned of my errors I can move on to review it. This is one of those movies that even if you see the ending coming it still does not take anything away from the viewing experience. In fact I don't know anyone who did not second guess their first thoughts on who did it in this well paced thriller. Sure to some you may see the ending coming but the performances are so good that it is still a great experience.
The movie follows Annie Wilson [Cate Blanchett] who is a fortune teller for lack of a better word; she leads a some what comfortable life rearing her kids and dealing with the death of their father. Of course with the customers she has she has to deal with a few nuts, and I am talking about the customers family members. Things are going fine until she meets a fella [Greg Kinnear] who has a promiscuous wife [Katie Holmes]; turns out she will have more to do with her and her husband in the future. Of course she also has to deal with the husband [Keanu Reeves] of one of her clients [Hilary Swank] who constantly is threatening her and her children. Then naturally if that is not enough there is the deeply in need of help client [Giovanni Ribisi] who by the way is the show stealer here. Throw all that together and you have one very entertaining movie from the great Sam Raimi.
While some may be able to figure this one out it is still fun to watch it all play out, and I know you will not see the end coming. There is something in here that just comes from no where but makes perfect sense. Writers Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson did a great job with this film, the characters are interesting and the story is great. Of course director Sam Raimi keeps things moving at a nice pace and never stays to long on one thing. Also in going back to his horror roots there are plenty of scenes with genuine tension in them. Another wonderful thing about this film is the setting, I love that southern style and sound that is brought forth threw the film.
Star Cate Blanchett does a great job in this movie as the so called "witch" that helps out the police in a murder investigation that she has more of a connection to then she knows. I believe her in this role and she makes this movie much better then films that are similar like "The Skeleton Key" which wasn't bad but it wasn't this. Also Katie Holmes is kinda devilish in this movie and she plays the part well, I always thought of her as a goody goody before this film. Hilary Swank is great in this as well as the abused and scared wife that does not know how to leave a husband that is no good for her. All three of these ladies did a great job in this film and deserve the credit for doing so.
J.K Simmons who would go on later to play J.J. in the Spider-Man movies for Sam does a great job here as the local sheriff, as does Gary Cole as the prosecution attorney who would play the excellent "Sheriff Buck" in the Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert produced show "American Gothic" [one of the greatest shows of all time no doubt]. Greg Kinnear is great as the husband of the dead in this film, and Keanu Reeves surprised me with an excellent portrayal of an abusive husband and stalker. Still the scene stealer in this one by far is Giovanni Ribisi who is amazing as the truly disturbed Buddy Cole who seems to have issues with his father. Honestly it is one of the best performances I have seen; yes I truly enjoyed his performance in this film.
This is not the best movie ever made but it is still one of the most enjoyable, I had a great time watching this the first time and a great one again recently. Sam Raimi did a great job with this film and had a wonderful cast to help him out as well. Go into this one ready to be entertained it is a nice mix of suspense and drama that I am sure all would enjoy. The gift was a great film that fell a little short of classic status but I may change my mind on that one over time, let's see.
