| The Gift | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical film poster | |
| Directed by | Sam Raimi |
| Produced by | James Jacks Gary Lucchesi Tom Rosenberg |
| Written by | |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Christopher Young |
| Cinematography | Jamie Anderson |
| Edited by | Bob Murawski |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Classics |
Release date |
|
Running time | 112 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10 million[1][2] |
| Box office | $44.6 million[3] |
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 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 and psychic 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 who has visions of her late grandmother. After Jessica King (Katie Holmes), the promiscuous 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 has repeatedly threatened Annie and her three children after Annie advised Valerie to leave him, accusing Annie of being a witch and telling her and her children that she will burn in hell. 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.
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 arrested and taken to a mental hospital.
During Donnie's trial for Jessica's murder, it is revealed that they had an affair. Donnie is convicted and sent to prison. Later, Annie receives more visions revealing that Donnie is innocent and that someone else wants to kill her. 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 at 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.
Buddy tells Annie that he escaped from the mental hospital, and the two drive to the police station. Annie tells Buddy that he will have to return to the hospital, and he waits in the car while she enters the station. When she returns to the car with police, Buddy has disappeared. Annie explains to Johnson what happened at the pond, but 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 and looks at photographs of her late husband Ben. The next morning, she and her sons are at his grave, mourning his premature demise.
Cast
- Cate Blanchett as Annabelle "Annie" Wilson
- Giovanni Ribisi as Buddy Cole
- Keanu Reeves as Donnie Barksdale
- Katie Holmes as Jessica King
- Greg Kinnear as Wayne Collins
- Hilary Swank as Valerie Barksdale
- Michael Jeter as Gerald Weems
- Kim Dickens as Linda
- Gary Cole as David Duncan
- Rosemary Harris as Annie's grandmother
- J.K. Simmons as Sheriff Pearl Johnson
- Chelcie Ross as Kenneth King
Reception
Critical response
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2016) |
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
- ^ a b "The Gift (2000) - Financial Information". Retrieved April 27, 2018.
- ^ 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
- ^ a b "The Gift (2000)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ Amélie; Sage. "THE GIFT (2001)". BillyBobThornton.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2008. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
- ^ The Gift at Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ "The Gift". Metacritic.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (January 19, 2001). "The Gift". Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago, Illinois: Sun-Times Media Group. Retrieved April 28, 2018 – via rogerebert.com.