The Gift

10/16/2024

**_Whodunnit Southern Gothic with Cate Blanchett_** In a town near coastal Georgia, a widow (Cate Blanchett) struggles to make ends meet with her three boys via her psychic abilities. When a young woman goes missing (Katie Holmes), the authorities ask her for assistance. Greg Kinnear, Keanu Reeves, Hilary Swank, Giovanni Ribisi, Gary Cole and JK Simmons are all on hand. “The Gift” (2001) meshes plot elements of “Resurrection” (1980) with the setting or tone of “Murder in Coweta County,” “The General’s Daughter” and a little “Cape Fear” (1991). You can’t beat the cast and the Southern town ambiance is great, plus the flawed characters are nicely fleshed-out. There are no less than five possibilities of who the culprit is and, with 20 minutes to go, it becomes clear who it is. Regre

5/10/2026

Tension is there, but it never gets creepy The tone of this movie is a bit strange to me, but it works really well. There are some twists to this that become obvious if you look straight at it, but it is engaging to watch. The casting is inspired, and I can't imagine it done better. The directing is great, and the performances are excellent. It is a tad slow in places, but I enjoyed it a lot.