Kirpianuscus off course, it is not the most inspired word for define it. but the meaning of "seductive", near "Fascination", maybe, is simple - a film about other. as answer, as cure, as friend, as danger. sure, I am an admirer of Cate Blanchette and this does me more than subjective. but "The Gift" has the admirable virtue to be a film about people from the right angle. and this is the motif to see it. for remind vulnerabilities and need of miracles. and to understand. the reactions about obscure aspects of near every day reality.

Nicolas F. Costoglou The Gift is one of the more serious films made by Sam Raimi,which is not a positive and not a negative thing, because this movie is as good as Evil Dead, or Spider-Man, only a different kind of Story.It's from 2000, around this time people seemed to make movies to tell interesting stories, not just to sell toys, and this movie is a great example. It's written by the well-known actor Billy Bob-Thornton who was inspired by his mother who apparently had some sort of psychic powers. If you believe something like that or not is completely subjective and has no impact on your enjoyment of this fictional tale, which is very dramatic and very well told.The camera-work isn't as outrages and wild as in over Raimi movies, which fits the story and underlines the tone of the movie perfectly. Because of this, the creative and intense scenes in which the protagonist has symbolic dreams, or psychic premonitions are all the more effective, and the visual effects are almost unnoticeable, even after all these years.The acting in this film is overall fantastic, one of the strongest reasons why this movie works for me is that i was completely engaged. I was afraid that Cate Blanchett's character, or her children could get hurt by Keanu Reeves, who's unbelievably threatening in this film and gives one of his best performances. Not to mention Giovanni Ribisi, J.K. Simmons, Katie Holmes or especially Greg Kinnear.The soundtrack by Christopher Young (who Raimi would later work with on Spider-Man 3) also fits well for the setting and atmosphere. All in all i was very surprised by the quality of this movie, which also has a very satisfying conclusion.It reminded me in some aspects of one of my favourite thrillers "What lies beneath" which came out the same year...

adonis98-743-186503 A woman with extrasensory perception is asked to help find a young woman who has disappeared. The Gift is not one of Sam Raimi's all time best movies but it's still a very entertaining one with a very talented cast such as Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi, Keanu Reeves, Greg Kinnear, Hilary Swank, J.K. Simmons and Rosemary Harris and i gotta say it was pretty good what he did with some actors here especially Harris and Simmons since he cast them again in 3 more movies later on as Aunt May and Jonah Jameson in The Spider-Man Trilogy. It does have some small issues like some over the top sequences or even scenes with certain characters but as far as acting, direction and script goes the film does deliver a lot!!

cinswan I can say from my experience as a psychic that Billy Bob Thornton makes the psychic's life believably real – and Sam Raimi's directing along with Cate Blanchett's portrayal of Annie Wilson come together to seal the deal. Blanchett brings to Wilson's character understated grace and humility. When put in the position of having to use her gift to bring the murder of a local young woman (Katie Holmes) to the authorities' attention she reveals the burden of The Gift. It's a double entendre and cautionary tale wrapped in a two word title.Hilary Swank's portrayal of Valerie Barksdale, a battered wife who seeks Wilson's aid is familiar to anyone who has witnessed spousal abuse. She captures that inexplicable dichotomy of the abused's recognition of her dire situation: she loves him, fears him, yet fears being alone even more. What Keanu Reeves (Donnie Barksdale) brings to the role a quality that some have said he doesn't achieve as an actor: realism. I have known a man like this and have no reason to ever know one again. There is nothing for me to learn on that road, yet I know others who have yet to learn that soul-sucking lesson. Reeves' evocation of anger, disdain, bullying and taunting all mistaken for indisputable power is true to the abuser's persona. What he tapped into when bringing this character to life is neither affectation nor caricature. The role reveals an unparalleled collaboration between him, Sam Raimi, and Billy Bob Thornton to be nakedly honest about cruelty. Reeves' interaction with Giovanni Ribisi in his role as Buddy Cole, another client of Wilson's who challenges Donnie Barksdale to shoot him, is particularly chilling. Anyone who has ever dealt with spousal abuse, regardless of what one thinks about psychic abilities, needs to see this movie.The plot twists in predictable yet also surprising directions. What transpires will raise questions about reality as we know it, and how life isn't as certain as we might want to believe it is. Even psychic Annie Wilson learns from the ever-skeptical sheriff (J.K. Simmons) that what she thought was real was real – but in a different, inexplicable way. Isabeau Vollhardt, author, The Casebook of Elisha Grey