The Gift

source: Weirdo

Simon and Robyn relocate to their new house, whilst out shopping the pair bump into Gordon (Gordo) an old school friend of Simon's. The couple return home one day to find a bottle of wine Gordo had gifted them, he'd picked up their address. Gordo starts turning up at their house unannounced and forcing a friendship, and somehow putting a level of paranoia into Robyn. Simon had been school president, and Gordo had suffered somewhat at Simon's hand. Events soon spiral out of control and secrets of the past are unearthed by Robyn. Robyn soon becomes pregnant, a huge happiness for them both as her last pregnancy was sadly unsuccessful. Whilst Robyn is in Hospital recovering after giving birth, Simon returns home to find 'the gift' from Gordo waiting for him, the gift causes Simon to lose control. I wasn't expecting to enjoy this film as much as I did, the trailers did not do it justice. It's a thought provoking, powerful, deep and brilliantly acted thriller. It makes you alter your perceptions and opinions of the characters as it progresses, the one constant being Robyn, who's actually quite sweet, brilliantly portrayed by Rebecca Hall. Joel Edgerton does a grand job as Gordo, playing him consistently and very subtly, it could have been so easy for him to overplay his part, but he never does. I've always been a fan of Mr Bateman, and once again he proves he's not just about comedy, he's excellent, particularly at the very end. The menacing elements are subtly played, and mostly implied, it adds more to the ending. It's a great film, revenge is the main reason for Gordo's appearance, but it's kept until later on in the film. Very much worth seeing. 8/10

It's good to see Jason Bateman not be the perfect gentleman in a film for once

When Simon Callum (Jason Bateman) moves with his wife Robyn (Rebecca Hall) from Chicago to an astonishing house in California to work in a new job, they need to go shopping in a store. Out of the blue, a man named Gordon "Gordo" Moseley (Joel Edgerton) stumbles upon Simon and tells that he was a former high school classmate. Gordo overhears their address and brings gifts for the couple, making Simon uncomfortable. Then he invites the couple to have dinner with him and they learn that Gordo lives in a mansion. He receives a phone call and leaves the couple alone at his home and Simon decides to snoop around and mock him. When Gordo returns, Simon says that he should stay away from Robyn and him. There are incidents at Simon's home and the family's dog disappears and Simon blames Gordo. Simon drives to his house and he finds that Gordo does not live there. However the dog returns and the couple receive a letter of apology from Gordo telling to let bygones be bygones. Robyn is curious about the meaning but she gets pregnant. When Robyn discovers that her husband bullied Gordo in high school, she decides to research their past, discovering dreadful secrets from Simon's past. There are many problems with Simon and when the baby is born, he receives a mysterious gift from Gordo. What might be the gift? "The Gift" is a different thriller where the bad guy is not who the viewer initially imagine. There is tension along the whole story and the conclusion is open. With the resource of DNA, Simon may come up to conclusions about the paternity of his son. But the point is that Gordo and Robyn has always had a civilized relationship and he tells her that good people deserve good things. Therefore, he probably has not raped and harmed her. But this is just an opinion. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): "O Presente" ("The Gift")

Greetings again from the darkness. Joel Edgerton has become one of the more interesting actors working today. His projects range from indies like Warrior and Animal Kingdom to award winners like Zero Dark Thirty and big budget releases like The Great Gatsby. He has written screenplays, and now comes his feature length directorial debut … and an impressive debut it is. Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) are seeking a fresh start as they relocate to Los Angeles from Chicago. A new house and new job are an attempt to put an unfortunate situation regarding an unborn child behind them. Things get off to a great start for them as they buy a beautiful house, and Simon is put up for a promotion. An encounter with Gordo (played by Edgerton) leads to some awkward social interactions and some downright creepy stalking. The film will work best the less you know about it. The psychological thriller aspects never devolve into the slashfest we have come to expect. Instead the film blurs the lines between good guys and bad guys. In fact, it brings into debate what makes a good person … it even states "you may be through with the past, but the past isn't through with you". Do our past misdeeds ever totally fade? What about high school bullies … do they mature? Can the proverbial zebra change its stripes? All of these questions and themes are touched. While you may struggle to identify the protagonist and antagonist, the performances of both Edgerton and Bateman are fun to watch. And it's Ms. Hall who is the grounding force who initially trusts both men, before questioning everything. There is also a very nice, understated performance from Allison Tolman as an understanding neighbor. Ms. Tolman was terrific in the first year of the "Fargo" series. Don't allow anyone to tell you much about this before you see it … just know that it will remind you of the importance of the Golden Rule. Treat others how you would like to be treated … or know that bygones are never bygones.

'The Gift' marked Joel Edgerton's directorial debut. He also wrote and starred in the film alongside Rebecca Hall and Jason Bateman. For a first time director, this is a very solid, admirable and promising piece of work. Edgerton's writing is intricate. He interweaves a number of themes together very well while creating a general structure. First of all he uses the premise of the past actions having a huge bearing on the present. The film delves into the theme of bullying and how much of an impact bullying can have on the victim throughout his/her life. Edgerton takes this concept of bullying and merges it with the work culture in the modern corporate world. He shows how people who were once bullies during their school days can continue with their bullying in their professional work to be successful. Edgerton's film is a bit of a damning indictment on corporate culture where these bullies and their bullying get rewarded more often than not. When it comes to direction, Edgerton has a great sense of how to use an enclosed location to amplify the tension, because at the heart of it, 'The Gift' is a thriller that thrives on the creation of tension. Edgerton uses the house that Simon and Robyn move in to brilliantly in the tension-filled scenes. I also noticed some subtle use of blocking that he uses. Specially in the kitchen scenes, there is a bit of a rectangular opening in the wall which gets uses quite subtly whenever there is a argument happening between husband and wife. However the moment in the film that stayed with me will be an image that comes very early on in the film. As Robyn and Simon are checking out the different rooms in this new house that they are considering to move into, there is a shot where we see Robyn and Simon facing each other with a glass sliding door separating them. Simon slides open the door and Robyn moves out the door to join Simon oh his side and walks off. This moment in a thematic sense, is a foreshadow for the whole film and it's a brilliant moment. The acting is also very good. For me the best performance in the film comes from Rebecca Hall. She shows the right amount of grace, likability and vulnerability to portray the character of Robyn and sells her paranoia very convincingly. Jason Bateman once again shows that he can be so much more than just a comedic actor. He showed this in 'Disconnect' and now in 'The Gift' he again shows a different side to his personality. Edgerton himself plays the character who initially seems like the typical creepy outsider who'll haunt the couple, but as the film progresses, the film slowly reveals certain aspects of his character and the film somewhat subverts some clichés. 'The Gift' is a bit like the lighter, non-flashy, a little more grounded version of 'Cape Fear'. It does not achieve greatness, but it is certainly a solid, well made thriller especially considering this is Edgerton's first outing as a director. Recommended.

A great eerie drama/suspense glorious canvas debut for Joel Edgerton! Saw in the theater originally and now own on iTunes happily anytime I watch it I love The Gift. Beautifully acted, immersive story, I feel empathetic for many of the characters and appreciate the dialogue! To me The Gift is a well done art piece that everyone should see and appreciate.

I was sure wrong about The Gift. Trailers and advertisements have marketed the film as one of those generic psychological thrillers that may be heavy on plot and dull on characters but this is not what The Gift was. In fact, the characters Simon (Jason Bateman), Robyn (Rebecca Hall) and Gordo (Joel Edgerton) are so well crafted from the script, they will still sit in your head hours after watching actor turned director Joel Edgerton's successful debut. In The Gift, the story is about a man named Simon and his wife Robyn move into a new California home from Chicago and encounter a man named Gordon "Gordo" Mosley from Simon's High School past. Gordo begins to force a friendship on the couple by giving gifts but Simon doesn't want this man in his life because of Gordo's awkwardness and past as a "weirdo" in school. The Gift is essentially about the past. The actions one person did in the past and whether or not one should move on and forget about it. A line is spoken in the film, "Let bygones be bygones". This line or saying that puts itself as the theme of the film. I thought the character of Gordo was excellently played by Joel Edgerton, the director and writer of the film. He turned what could have been a generic stalker-villain caricature and made him a real human being the audience can empathize with. Having said that, the main character Simon can be viewed as a villain himself. Of all the movies that released in late July and August 2015, I recommend checking out the Gift. It's a film that cares about a story it wants to tell and characters it feels to explore. No explosions. No spectacle. Just great storytelling.

The Gift follows married couple Simon and Robyn who get a unexpected encounter from Gordo, an acquaintance from Simon's past. At first, Simon doesn't recognize Gordo, but after a troubling series of uninvited encounters and mysterious gifts, a horrifying secret emerges. Little do they know that their perfect lives are about to be thrown into a terrifying tailspin. This film standing as Joel Edgerton's directional debut, I must say is pretty impressive. This was a well crafted thriller put together by Edgerton, it wasn't as predictable as most thrillers are these days, it was simply one where our expectations keep getting pummeled to ground from how the story keeps transitioning. Everyone in this were simply astonishing, Edgerton played such a compelling creepy loner with so much aplomb, Hall played her role perfectly as a depressed woman that can't stress enough with all the fear and for Bateman, coming from his comedic standpoint, simply impressed as the husband with one troubling past. Round of applause to each and everyone! The film builds an effective sense of suspense and disbelief, you don't know what to believe from all the turn of events. The story was told so fluently with the suspense, is wasn't cheap or hasty but more chilling and grim when it came to the very well paced manner, it doesn't simply spoonfeed us with everything it's doing but really lets us take the turn for worst with each surprise hiding at each corner. The Gift was simply a shot in the dark when it let loose from the formulaic genre it was hanging off of. This nerve-wracking thriller maturely sends this main couple spiraling out of control as Edgerton simply starts to turn their life upside down by downgrading their relationship piece by piece. You can never tell who's the main protagonist, Is It Bateman? Is it Hall? Is It Edgerton? You can't really seem to tell until the surprise-filled ending that takes a wonderfully warped take on long-ranged karma. The Gift most certainly gave deliberate pacing, believable characters, and masterful understanding of cinematic suspense, Edgerton really proved that this film shouldn't be the last present we receive from him.

I am 29 years old and it has been a long time since I have seen a really good movie or at least I should say this kind of movie that does not turn out cheesy and how you expect it to. This looked like a Lifetime straight to TV movie when I saw the trailer and I won't lie that is what attracted me because good thrillers do come along but you gotta wait for them sometimes. What I liked most about this movie is that it portrayed it'self as a low budget small studio film but while your are watching it you can clearly see it's not a crappy low budget film at all even though you may not see many fireworks. The director does a good of trying to get inside your head for the entire movie to the point where you just have to piece everything you watched together before you can determine of the film you are watching is even interesting. It seems the director easily keeps your focus with movie by making your brain piece clues together to figure out what, where and why things are happening. Great acting and great directing made this a 10 out of 10 for me. I am not going to spoil anything because I think you will enjoy this movie and not only will you enjoy but it you will be surprised at how much better this movie is than you thought it would be.