Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
2 stars for the movie, +1 star for Blanchett, 5 Jun 2007
There is nothing new, fresh, and even special about this movie. With its unoriginal & slow-paced plot, and contrived & clinché-drenched ending, it's a mediocre, 3-star thriller at best. But it does not mean that it's totally worthless. Theoretically, mystery and suspense are relatively easy to achieve, but setting an groovy plot and inventing a satisfactory ending is not. "The Gift" undeniably falls into this pitfall.
From beginning to end, "The Gift" follows the traditional, straightforward, and tested-and-certified pattern of many average thrillers: At first, you are introduced to the people (with their good, bad, bizarre & dubious aspects) around Annie, not giving too much hint bringing in serious suspicions. Then mystery comes: "indecent but innocent" girl vanishes without a trace. The investigations of police produce no results, so our Annie, having a supernatural "gift" of clairvoyance to see/feel things and events occured before, provides her "mystic service" and discovers shocking secrets. And there will be some sort of confrontations and B-grade horror clichés in the latter half and lastly, the "bad man" is captured after a series of trite and stale twists & turns. We've seen these zillions of times...
Apart from a satisfactory casting, thanks to Cate Blanchett here, what you can't find in this type of thrillers, however, is originality, believability, and such a refreshingly high amount of energy that blows your mind up.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Truelly chilling., 31 Oct 2007
I have to admit to being slightly puzzled by some of the negative reviews I have seen about this film. I saw this at the cinema when it came out and had quite low expectations of it. Therefore, I was surprised by how chilling it really is. Combined with the acting skills of Cate Blanchett, Keanu Reeves, "Buddy" (Phoebe's brother in Friends) and Hilary Swank, this really is a better then average supernatural yarn.
A young girl is missing and psychic Annie has visions of her decomposing body. But who is the murderer?
The relationship between Cate Blanchett and her on screen children is touching and relieves the tension well from some of the more frightening scenes. I actually had a nightmare after watching this film and it involved violins! (Watch the film to see what I mean)
If you liked What Lies Beneath, you will enjoy this. Discard scepticism and enjoy.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
SOUTHERN GOTHIC..., 13 Feb 2003
This is an interesting movie with a stellar cast. The performances are notable, particularly that of Giovanni Ribisi, who plays a mentally troubled auto mechanic who is on the verge of a complete meltdown. Keanu Reeves also does a star turn, as Hilary Swank's abusive and philandering husband. Cate Blanchett is excellent as the young, impoverished widow with kids, who just happens to have psychic gifts. The always underrated Greg Kinnear gives his usual excellent performance.The action takes place in a rural Georgia town, where Cate reads cards for clients in an attempt to make ends meet. Hilary Swank is one of Cate's clients. Cate counsels her to leave her abusive and womanizing husband, played by Keanu Reeves. This just earns Cate the enmity of Keanu, who begins a campaign of terror against her. Cate also reads cards for Giovanni Ribisi, who is a standout with his dazzling performance in the role of a mentally traumatized young man, whom Cate treats kindly. Cate is called to her son's school one day, where she meets with Greg Kinnear over something her son did. While there, she meets his kittenish fiancee, well played by Katie Holmes, who recognizes Cate as the local psychic and asks what she sees in their future. What Cate sees does not bode well for them. When Kinnear's fiancee predictably turns up murdered, the hunt is on for her killer. The obvious suspect is Keanu Reeves, who is tried and convicted for the murder, after Cate testifies at his trial. You see, the body was found in a pond on his property, after Cate had a vision about it, and Keanu had been having an affair with her and had been the last person known to have seen the deceased alive. After the trial, however, Cate has visions that lead her to believe that the real killer has escaped justice. While there are a number of red herrings that are thrown the viewer's way, the viewer should have no trouble zeroing in on the real killer. What is surprising is the way Cate escapes death at the hands of that killer. Therein lies the real surprise. Viewers should enjoy this quirky, though interesting, film.
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