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THE GIFT Send This Review to a Friend
Apart from being another showcase for the talent of Cate Blanchett, "The Gift" is a supernatural crock. There are those who get hooked on anything dealing with psychic visions or the like, and if you are one of them, you should not be deterred from seeing "The Gift" by a skeptic. This heavy dose of trauma and Southern rural atmosphere has been directed by Sam Rami, with a turgid screenplay by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson.
Blanchett is especially effective as Annie Wilson, who has psychic gifts, and, struggling to make a living for herself and her sons, gives readings to some of the locals. Accordingly, Annie is viewed as someone strange. Valerie, one of her clients, played by Hilary Swank, another of the film's assets, is deeply troubled by the abuse she is taking from her nasty husband Donnie (Keanu Reeves). It doesn't take a psychic to come up with the advice that Annie gives--leave him. Easier said than done.
A subplot involves Annie's efforts to help a psychologically messed up young man name Buddy, eerily played by Giovanni Ribisi. The tall tale gets complicated when the body of a drowned woman is found. Annie's psychic prowess enabled her to preview the murder. Trouble abounds for Annie, and the film surges into melodrama and attempts to work up the sort of audience emotions that go with a thriller. I found it mostly tedious and silly, save for watching Blanchett at work. A Paramount Classics release.
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