No bunny is boiled on the stove, “Fatal Attraction” style, but the newly installed fish in a koi pond all die. And a dog has gone missing.
Mere coincidence or signs that the past is roaring back to haunt Simon (Jason Bateman) and, by extension, his wife, Robyn (Rebecca Hall)? “The Gift” is a tense psychological thriller that starts to tilt in one ominous direction as it attempts to answer increasingly disturbing questions.
The movie opens with Simon and Robyn buying a house as they prepare to move from Chicago to LA for his new, lucrative job. He grew up nearby and when the couple go shopping, a man approaches and introduces himself as Simon’s high school classmate Gordo (Joel Edgerton).
In the first of several uninvited and awkward gestures or appearances, Gordo leaves a bottle of wine and a note on their doorstep. Robyn has a soft spot for the helpful oddball but Simon wants nothing to do with the man who had the nickname of “Gordo the Weirdo” once upon a time.
Starring: Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, Joel Edgerton.
Rating: R for language.
Gordo keeps making overtures, including a dinner invite to his home, until Simon tells him, “I think that we would prefer that you don’t visit us anymore.” It’s like ripping off a Band-Aid, best to be done in one swift motion, Simon says.
Robyn, however, continues to be unnerved when she’s home alone (although why doesn’t this house have a fancy security system?) and is reluctant to accept Simon’s insistence they put this behind them. Despite the upswing in their lives, secrets and behaviors from the past start to cast larger and darker shadows, proving Gordo might be correct when he says, “You are done with the past, but the past is not done with you.”
“The Gift” marks the directing debut of Mr. Edgerton who Pittsburghers may remember from “The Warrior” as the son of Nick Nolte, brother of Tom Hardy and MMA competitor. The Australian native also wrote the screenplay, which explores the consequences of long-ago actions that cut so deep the wounds never healed properly.
Although there are moments designed to make you jump, “The Gift” is a slow burner, with the fuse lit near the start and the explosive reveals near the end. Casting Mr. Bateman gives the audience reason to automatically and initially trust and like Simon while Ms. Hall makes Robyn sympathetic and vulnerable and moviegoers will be unsure or wary of Gordo.
The thriller explores the consequences of mean-spirited, underhanded and diabolical actions. It asks: Do people really change with the passage of time? Can bygones ever really be bygones? And should you beware of acquaintances bearing gifts, possibly grudges and cards with smiley faces?
Movie editor Barbara Vancheri: bvancheri@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1632. Read her blog at www.post-gazette.com/madaboutmovies.
First Published: August 7, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
