For a Husband and Wife, the Past Comes Back with a Bow on Top

Jason Bateman in "The Gift"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com

Joel Edgerton is the latest actor to step from behind the camera to in front of it.  Actors such as Clint Eastwood, Ben Affleck, and George Clooney, to name a few, have all displayed much competence in directing films, and Edgerton is the next to do so.  In his directorial debut, he brings us the psychological thriller, “The Gift,” in which he delivers something that doesn’t play out as we would expect, which makes it a lot better than it could have been.

Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) are a young couple that moves to California from Chicago.  One day, when they are running errands together, Simon and Robyn bump into Gordon Moseley (Edgerton), a socially awkward acquaintance of Simon’s from high school.  The three of them spend some time together, but after Gordon becomes clingy and intrusive, Simon decides to sever ties with him.  Afterwards, Gordon begins to terrorize the couple, and Robyn soon realizes that Simon has more of a history with Gordon than he’s letting on.

Jason Bateman is an actor who usually plays your average guy in several comedy roles.  However, by having him use this persona for a dramatic role, it’s much more effective than it usually is because Bateman’s character is thrown into a much more serious situation, and the everyman role makes it seem like this scenario can happen to anybody.  Bateman’s character evolves from the typical everyman as the film goes on, particularly in the second half, as he becomes a difficult protagonist to side with, which you’ll see for yourself once you view the film.

Rebecca Hall is wonderful as Simon’s wife and acts as the one kindhearted main character in the film.  Throughout the movie, the terror brought upon her house by Gordon slowly chips away at her sense of security, and the toll that this has on her mental state is something that Hall exhibits very convincingly.

Edgerton is effectively creepy as Gordon, but what’s interesting about his approach to the character is that he doesn’t have Gordon act like an outright psycho, but instead presents the character as a fairly composed individual and lets his facial expressions and calm voice show fleeting glimpses of the anger that’s boiling inside of him.

One of the most notable factors about Edgerton’s screenplay is that it dodges our expectations as to where it will take us.  Not to spoil anything, but it avoids the usual cat-and-mouse finale between the villain and his victims, and instead replaces it with a rather disturbing and twisted ending.  

His screenplay also doesn’t waste anytime in getting the story started.  Within the first five minutes, the couple moves into a new house and meets Gordon right after.  From there, the story takes its time with setting up the characters, all the while increasing the tension as the film goes on.

The face-to-face interaction between the couple and Gordon is actually limited for some significant portions of the movie, particularly in the second act.  During this time, we know that Gordon is around, but is mostly lurking around unseen.  This places the viewer in the uncomfortable positions of Simon and Robyn as we feel the anxiety of being watched, just as they do.

Edgerton proves to be considerably talented as a director, masterfully creating a sense of uneasiness with the use of camera movements, framing, and the design of the couple’s house.  Thankfully, the film doesn’t feel the need to raise tension by relying on cheap jump shocks.  Although the film has a couple of decent scares, it mainly relies on establishing a sense of anxiety and acts more as a slow-burner that has us guess how far Gordon will go in tormenting Simon and Robyn.

“The Gift” is a thriller that’s as entertaining as it is unsettling, making it a welcome surprise at the cinema this summer.  This is a film that will have you wanting to tear off the wrapping paper to see what’s inside.

Final grade: A-