THE GIFT (5 out of 10) Written and Directed by Joel Edgerton, Starring Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, Joel Edgerton, Rated R for “language.” Running time 108 minutes. In wide release August 7, 2015
Some secrets should be buried in the past. And some movies should be quickly forgotten. While Joel Edgerton’s “The Gift” delivers serious thrills, some fun, and takes karmic retribution to epic levels, it’s a long, slow burn to get to an ambiguous and therefore somewhat unsatisfying ending.
Simon (Jason Bateman) and his wife Robyn (Rebecca Hall) have recently moved to Los Angeles, close to where Simon grew up. While shopping to furnish their new home, they run into Gordo (Joel Edgerton), a socially awkward man who claims to know Simon from high school. When Gordo starts leaving gifts on their doorstep and showing up in person, boundaries are crossed and things start to get weird.
Of course, there’s more than meets the eye going on here, as it appears that issues from Simon and Gordo’s past may be coming back to haunt them. And Simon is revealed to be not a very good person.
Edgerton shows himself to be a skillful director here, bringing life to the setpiece of Robyn and Simon’s house, making it a character in itself. The adage about glass houses and throwing stones is given literal meaning here, as is the idea of living in such an exposed space when someone incredibly creepy is stalking you.
However, his skills as a screenwriter should be called into question. Too many loose threads in the script are never resolved. Issues that had a germ of a cool idea never come to fruition. The first hour of the film is slow burn– the ending helps make up for that a little, but the ambiguous twist is more frustrating than it is satisfying.
You also have to wonder about the wisdom of a writer/director also casting himself in a lead role. Obviously he is trying to say something here, but it gets lost.
Ultimately, though, this is a film about karmic retribution. The things Simon does finally come home to roost, which is nice to see. It’s also nice to see Bateman be able to stretch his acting wings a little bit. And just like he did in Juno, he nails the creepy douche vibe really well.
Overall, this is a great idea for a movie with some great pieces surrounded by a lot of mostly forgettable tension-building. Check it out if you really dig the actors or this idea, but otherwise this is something you can wait to see at home on Blu-Ray or on tv.
5 out of 10