Considering how far-fetched ghouls and goblins really are, the fact that supernatural creatures and unkillable slashers (pointing my finger at you, Jason Voorhees!) are so inextricably linked to big-screen chills and thrills rings more than a bit false. While vampires, werewolves and assorted other creepy-crawlers are fun to watch, the real world has always been far more terrifying. People are often riding an emotional rollercoaster based on the life they’ve led and the experiences that have shaped them (as Pixar brilliantly taught us this summer). Sometimes, these same individuals can turn on those around them, even the people they call friends.
Take The Gift, for example. In the film, Simon (Jason Bateman) is out shopping with his wife, Robyn (Rebecca Hall), when the couple encounters Gordo (Joel Edgerton), an old classmate of Simon’s from high school. Soon thereafter, Gordo launches into a series of frequent visits, often accompanied with increasingly impressive gifts. It’s up to Simon and Robyn to figure out if Gordo is simply trying to be a thoughtful friend or has a more sinister agenda in mind.
From top to bottom, The Gift is Edgerton’s show. As writer, director and producer on the film, it is quite clearly a labor of love for the actor, who makes his directorial debut here. As Gordo, he is awkward enough to keep viewers second-guessing the character’s motivations throughout, but he does so in a way that seems just off enough to think that his smiling face masks a true psychopath (no spoilers here either way!). It’s his fine-tuned performance that the entire film hinges on. Thankfully, Edgerton doesn’t disappoint, and his co-stars shine right along with him.
Bateman – largely known for comedic work these days – turns in a commanding dramatic performance. More than that, his casting here makes particularly smart sense, given the way the plot unfolds. Traditionally, Bateman comes off as either the aw-shucks nice guy or the not-my-problem observer trapped in an insane world (e.g. Arrested Development). Here he is able to channel both sides of his resume intermittently and carries the role into something richer and far more rewarding by the time the credits roll.
Likewise, Hall matches the material beat for beat. Serving as the audience proxy during The Gift‘s central mystery, she is the fulcrum that the film builds around. At times, her role slips into that of the potential victim or long-suffering wife, but because of that, she actually may have the trickiest role in the film, since she has to maintain the story’s cohesiveness without allowing it to slip into cliché.
The Gift tosses in enough twists and turns to keep audiences guessing throughout, and more importantly, the film does so with such style and panache that it stands easily as one of the best thrillers in recent memory. The script remains tangible and real, weaving in social commentary on how two people can forever alter the course of each other’s lives. It even shares some thematic ground with Christopher Nolan’s Inception (no, don’t expect any gravity-defying gunfights), and the confident cinematography and evocative score by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans set the perfect eerie tone.
In a single film, Edgerton has established himself as a filmmaker to keep an eye on going forward. The Gift is perhaps the most chilling directorial debut since Bill Paxton brought us Frailty in 2001. Moreover, its well-spun narrative web thankfully doesn’t collapse upon further inspection, and it’s gut-punch of a final twist is one few will see coming. In short, The Gift is a cinematic highlight of 2015 and the kind of exercise in suspense that would have made Alfred Hitchcock himself proud.