After seeing London's famous Mousetrap, watching who-dunnit's have never quite
been the same. The Gift, the new movie written by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom
Epperson and directed by Sam Raimi, is a murder mystery that doesn't have enough
power to totally absorb you, giving you plenty of time to work out who dunnit.
The film is set in the deep South, replete with the colorful characters we've
come to expect from Hollywood representations of southerners. And since the hand
of Billy Bob Thornton is in evidence, you can expect the usual mix of wife beater
and child abusers. You have to wonder about Thornton's own upbringing since his
rendition of his homeland is always bleak.
In The Gift, Cate Blanchett plays Annie Wilson, a single mother of three who
helps make ends meet by giving psychic readings. Her husband died a year before
the movie begins in a tragic work related accident, opening her to ridicule, as
the psychic who couldn't save her own husband.
Annie is a gentle soul. Trying to be a good mother to her boys and a good
neighbor to the mish-mash of townfolk who cross her door. Like Hilary Swank as
Valerie Barksdale, who sports various cuts and bruises courtesy of her husband,
Donnie, played with all the subtle nuances we've come to expect from Keanu
Reeves.
And Giovanni Ribisi's Buddy Cole, the local mechanic who has no other friend than
Annie. In another film at another time, you'd mistake Buddy for Bo Radley.
The final ingredient in the mix is Wayne Collins--played by Greg Kinnear, who is
distraught when his fiancee, Jessica, suddenly comes up missing. At a loss for
clues, Jessica's loved ones turn to Annie to help find her.
The Gift is quite gripping, and has some moments that really hold your attention.
For the most part, however, there are holes in the plot so large you could drive
a semi-trailer through them, and the pace is slow enough to give an active brain
plenty of time to work out the ending.
Home || Complete list of reviews
