(SPOILER WARNING!!! This article does contain spoilers, if you haven’t seen the movie, just see the first paragraph to be informed without spoilers!!!)

The Gift is definitely thrilling and suspenseful with a good message, but its very dark tone might be too real for most people to enjoy.

Rating: 4 Stars

I am not too familiar with actor Joel Edgerton. It is like I’m starting to get to know him in this movie game. Maybe I have seen him before in other movies as a supporting role, but unfortunately the first movie I really saw him and know who he is was Exodus: Gods and Kings. Where he played an Egyptian Pharaoh that is whiter than Conan O’Brien (he does creepily look like him as well). Though the movie I didn’t really care for, I saw some decent acting chops from him. So now I see him in this upcoming movie called The Gift, and the movie looked interesting, but nothing of “I have to see it” status. With that said, give me some time, and seeing the great reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, i was intrigued enough to check it out, and it didn’t disappoint. What’s more, after the movie I found out that Edgerton wrote and made his directorial debut. He is a many with many good talents.

What I Like: The acting was on point. Most notably Jason Batman as Simon Callen, Rebecca Hall as Simon’s wife, Robyn Callen, and Joel Edgerton as Gordon “Gordy” Moseley. Jason and Rebecca were moving from Chicago to Los Angeles and buying a new cool house for them to live in. There Simon meets up with an old high school friend named Gordy, they catch up, but it was obvious Simon wasn’t that interested. From then on, it seems Gordy was trying to be nice by giving them simple gifts at their door, and meeting Simon’s wife named Rebecca. This makes Simon even more uncomfortable, and decided to stop for them to seeing him. Rebecca who thinks Gordy is just a nice man, really doesn’t understand why, but when circumstances kept unraveling with both Simon and Gordy and their history, she becomes more paranoid and have her digging the truth that Simon was actually a bully in high school especially to Gordy who he has humiliated to a point where he had to change schools. What I like about the story is that it really gives a message about bullying and how bad it could get for some people where they can never move on or forget. It seems that Gordy just wanted an apology to help him move on, but Simon’s arrogance didn’t want to. This lead to Gordy trying to get revenge on him and that’s when the story went to a very dark tone. I like how Jason Bateman played Simon as a cool guy at first, but then turning into an evil guy where karma has got to him hard. It was almost you wanted bad things to happen to him after you find out who he really is, and doesn’t mind screwing people over for him to gain. I also enjoyed seeing Joel Edgerton playing a Gordy. Where he seems like a nice guy, but you always get a sense of creepiness throughout the movie, and really creepy at the end. Though a little of yourself really wants Gordy to get his revenge on Simon, but the way it all played out it makes you wonder how evil he is too. I’m impressed with how Edgerton wrote a good story really about the effects of bullying, and the way he directed the film was very thrilling to see what will happen, and suspenseful where it actually created some jump moments. It was like he has been directing before, and i hope he can direct and write more movies.

The So So: Everything in this movie had a good explanation with no loose ends, until the ending. When the movie took it’s darkest tone of seeing Gordy getting his revenge, he shows how psycho he can really be. Even though Simon deserves it, and is about to lose his job and separate from his wife after the baby was born, you didn’t want it to be that horrific. Gordy ended up giving him on last gift of a bassinet for a baby, but three small gifts of one, a key to his door, two, an audio recording of Simon making fun of him during their time they were just moving in, and three, a video that Gordy recorded of him putting a sedative in Robyn drink where she passes out, and Gordy comes in looking like he was about to rape her, but the video stops recording. Gordy calls Simon telling him that maybe he did or didn’t, but to look at the baby’s eyes. The thing is, once they show the baby’s eyes, I wasn’t sure who the father is, and the movie ended with a big open ended question where people will debate. I personally hate when movies do that, but this one was very interesting, but I really want to know what happens afterwards. What happens to Simon, is he ruined, or does he get it together. With the way the movie took its dark tone, I believe Gordy did violate her and that it is actually his son, but that is just my opinion.

What I Didn’t Like: After what I explained in the last paragraph, I believe this movie was a little too dark and real for me to show how sick people are. Especially if my theory about what Gordy did is true. Just like how upset I was with the movie Gone Girl, and how she wins in the end. You wanted justice for Simon in what he did, but not to that extent where he is ruining a family, and an innocent baby. It almost gave me a heart palpitation, and maybe i don’t want to know what happens afterwards. This movie is not for the faint of heart, and be ready when you watch it.

Overall: This movie is definitely a good edge of your seat thriller with some great creativity from Joel Edgerton, just be prepared for the dark twists in the end. If you can handle it, you will see how good the movie is!!!

Rating: 4 Stars

(Sidenote: Kill Me Three Times- This movie stars Simon Pegg as a hitman (yeah you read that right) where he among other people are trying to kill this woman played by Alice Braga. I liked how they told the story with many different viewpoints of what happened during this ordeal with some minor twists, but when it all unraveled it became a mess. With that said, it was funny to see Simon Pegg acting like a gangster. He tried, he actually did, but this movie was a little off like his aim with guns.
Rating: 3 Stars)