The Gift, written and directed by Australia’s own Joel Edgerton, follows newlywed couple Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) whose lives are thrown into a harrowing tailspin when Gordo (Joel Edgerton), an acquaintance from Simon’s past, continues to bring strange gifts to their door and threatens to reveal a scandalous secret from their childhood. Never-doubting his audience’s intelligence, Edgerton has created a smart, tense and gripping entry into the thriller genre.
To say anymore about the plot of The Gift is to give away too much. This is truly a film you need to know nothing about before witnessing it. It’s hard to believe this is Edgerton’s first ever project as director, as his beautifully framed and choreographed slow-moving camerawork conveys a tone of fear and expectation. He also masterfully uses these slow-panning shots, as well as his sharply written screenplay, to maintain the films expertly crafted slow-pace, revealing information about characters slowly as the film progresses, keeping audiences continually on the edge of their seats throughout. If the film suffers, it’s in its use of unnecessary jump-scares, a cheap trope of lesser-grade horror films that the films quality would suggest it is above.
Where this film truly shines is in its performances however, with Edgerton showing he is a jack-of-all-trades in his portrayal of Gordo, blending a friendly nature with an unsettling awkwardness that is clearly inspired by Psycho’s Norman Bates, but never copying of. Hall is also excellent as the films moral core, yet the clear hero of the cast is Jason Bateman. Having previously never stretched his acting potential in comedy, Bateman’s performance is perfectly subtle, his snarky comments and looks believably damage his wife enough to demonstrate his flawed nature, whilst his cynical view of their situation maintains his likeability to the audience.
Fresh, tense and subtle in its complexity, Edgerton has created a slow-burning thriller, the pace demands audiences’ patience, rewarding them with a beautifully directed, acted and scripted film with a devastatingly chilling finale.
4/5 stars.