The Gift (2000 film)

The Gift is a 2000 American supernatural thriller film directed by Sam Raimi, written by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson, and based on the alleged psychic experiences of Thornton's mother.[4]

The Gift
Theatrical film poster
Directed bySam Raimi
Produced byJames Jacks
Gary Lucchesi
Tom Rosenberg
Written by
Starring
Music byChristopher Young
CinematographyJamie Anderson
Edited byBob Murawski
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Classics
Release date
  • December 22, 2000 (2000-12-22)
Running time
112 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million[1][2]
Box office$44.6 million[3]

The film centers on Annie (Cate Blanchett) becoming involved in a murder case as a result of acquiring knowledge about the crime through her extrasensory perception/psionic abilities. The cast also includes Keanu Reeves, Giovanni Ribisi, Hilary Swank, Katie Holmes, and Greg Kinnear.

Plot

In the town of Brixton, Georgia, widow Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchett) is a clairvoyant fortune-teller. Jessica King (Katie Holmes), the fiancée of the local school's principal, Wayne Collins (Greg Kinnear), disappears.

Annie receives a vision revealing that Jessica has been killed and her corpse thrown into a pond. She informs local sheriff Pearl Johnson (J.K. Simmons) of her vision, and despite his skepticism, Johnson searches a pond at the home of Donnie Barksdale (Keanu Reeves), the abusive husband of one of Annie's clients, Valerie (Hilary Swank). Donnie had previously threatened Annie and her three children after Annie advised Valerie to leave him. Valerie permits the search while Donnie is absent, but he returns while the search is proceeding. The police find Jessica's corpse in the pond and Donnie is arrested for her murder.

During his trial for Jessica's murder, it is revealed that Jessica and Donnie had an affair. Donnie is convicted and sent to prison. Buddy Cole (Giovanni Ribisi), a mentally ill acquaintance of Annie's, harbors a hatred for his father, and tries to explain to Annie why, but Annie is preoccupied and refuses to listen. That evening, Buddy's mother calls Annie to come to their house, as Buddy has snapped and has his father bound to a chair. Buddy sets his father on fire, and it is revealed that Buddy's father sexually abused him as a child. Buddy is eventually taken to a mental hospital.

Later, Annie receives another vision revealing that Donnie is innocent. She asks prosecutor David Duncan (Gary Cole) to reopen the case. After Duncan declines, Annie counters that if he does not do so she will reveal David and Jessica's affair, which she witnessed. Duncan attempts to bribe Annie in exchange for her silence, but Annie refuses.

Annie tells Wayne that Donnie is not responsible for Jessica's death, and that Duncan will not reopen the investigation. At Wayne's suggestion, he and Annie drive out to the pond that night, where Annie learns from a vision that Wayne is actually the murderer. Wayne confesses to Annie that he was angry after he discovered that Jessica was cheating on him with Donnie. Wayne attempts to kill Annie by striking her in the head with a flashlight, but Buddy appears and knocks him out. Annie and Buddy lock the unconscious Wayne in the trunk of Annie's car.

To stop her head wound from bleeding, Buddy uses a baby's bib that Annie had lent him earlier. The two drive to the police station. Annie tells Buddy that he will have to return to the mental hospital, and he waits in the car while she enters the station. When she returns to the car with the police, Buddy has disappeared. When Annie explains to Johnson what happened at the pond, he informs her that Buddy could not have aided her as he had died by suicide at the mental hospital earlier that day.

Annie returns home to see the photographs of her late husband Ben, and recognizes that it was he who had saved her in spirit. The next morning, she and her sons are at his grave, mourning his premature demise.

Cast

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 57% based on 119 reviews, with an average score of 5.85/10. The site's consensus states "the A-list cast can't prevent the movie from becoming a by-the-numbers whodunit with an ending that's all but unsatisfactory."[5] On Metacritic it has a score of 62% based on reviews from 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[6]

Roger Ebert gave the film 3 stars out of a possible 4.[7]

Accolades
Award Category Subject Result
Independent Spirit Award Best Supporting Male Giovanni Ribisi Nominated
Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
Best Horror Film Grant Curtis Nominated
Best Actress Cate Blanchett Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Hilary Swank Nominated
Best Writing Billy Bob Thornton Nominated
Tom Epperson Nominated
Phoenix Film Critics Society Award Best Actress Cate Blanchett Nominated
World Stunt Awards Best Fire Stunt Erik Cord Nominated

Box office

The film grossed $12,008,642 at the U.S. box office against a production budget of $10 million.[3][1]

References
  1. "The Gift (2000) - Financial Information". Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  2. Fleming, Michael (3 January 2000). "Reeves wraps up villain in Raimi's 'Gift' ensemble". Variety. an exceptionally strong cast given its budget of less than $10 million
  3. "The Gift (2000)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
  4. Amélie; Sage. "THE GIFT (2001)". BillyBobThornton.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2008. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  5. The Gift at Rotten Tomatoes
  6. "The Gift". Metacritic.
  7. Ebert, Roger (January 19, 2001). "The Gift". Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago, Illinois: Sun-Times Media Group. Retrieved April 28, 2018 – via rogerebert.com.
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