The Gift (2015)

*** out of ****

If I had to find one word to describe “The Gift”, it would be “unexpected”. The marketing for the film made it look like a bro version of “Fatal Attraction” - the kid who was an awkward teen stalking the high-school hero when shunned again in adulthood. Cue scary music and boiled rabbits on the stove. But it isn't anything like that at all.

Simon and Robin Callum (Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall) have just moved to California from Chicago, close to the area where Simon grew up. While on a shopping trip they run into Gordo Moseley (Joel Edgerton), who recognizes Simon from high school, but who Simon appears to barely remember. They trade numbers, though it's pretty clear that Simon has little interest in further contact. So when Gordo starts to swing by the house unannounced, being generous and helpful, though in a pretty odd and socially awkward way, it makes Simon uncomfortable. Robin, however, isn't so sure there is anything to fear.

As we learn more and more about these characters, we start to see that Simon isn't really a very nice guy. Once he tells Robin that Gordo's nickname in high school was “Gordo the Weirdo” he refers to him only as that from then on. Gordo is clearly close to friendless, and Simon's eventual callous dismissal of him seems pretty cruel. This is the point where I expected the film to turn into a horror movie with Gordo playing the antagonist, but instead something rather intriguing happens.

Robin decides to spend a little time digging. And she finds that Simon was considered a big bully in high school, and once she sees that she also finds he's still a rather substantial bully now. He manipulates people and situations to get exactly what he wants, and when anything doesn't go according to script he gets very angry. Though Gordo hasn't been seen since Simon told him to stop coming around, Simon blames him for everything that goes wrong – their missing dog, the death of the fish in their coy pond, just about anything. As we learn more about Simon he becomes less and less a sympathetic character, and we question who is the villain of the film.

I found this to be a pretty bold part for Jason Bateman to take, and very must against his typical character. He has carved out a nice career in comedies playing the sarcastic but wholesome nice-guy, and Simon Callum is anything but nice. Bateman pulls it off beautifully, showing a range we've never seen from him before. Edgerton is perfectly creepy and gawky as Gordo, and though when seeing Hall all I could see was a younger Shelley Duvall, she is also excellent as the damaged but courageous Robin.

This film is in no way a “scary movie”, but it is very dark and at times very disconcerting. It has a lot to say about bullying, and also about people of a certain mentality that is more and more common these days: the “I will have my way despite who I have to destroy to get it” type. It is very bleakly shot, with no special effects or grand scenes, but it is a fascinating character study about three very different types of people. If you want high action you should stay away, but if you can get into a very character driven story with no desire to put a happy “Hollywood” spin on things, “The Gift” is a really quite wonderful film.