The Gift

Since he first burst onto the international film scene in the terrific Austrian crime drama Animal Kingdom (2010), Joel Edgerton has played major roles in several forgettable big budget productions [the remake of The Thing (2011), Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby (2013), and Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)]. WithThe Gift, the now well established actor and writer has followed in the footsteps of so many unknowns trying to make their mark in show business—writing and directing his own movie and creating a terrific part for himself. His story centers on Simon and Robyn Callen (Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall), a well-to-do couple whose transition to a new home, new job, and new life gets complicated when an old acquaintance from Simon’s past (Edgerton) enters their world.

The Gift is an old fashioned, slow burning psychological thriller that intelligently touches on contemporary issues and themes. Egerton employs many clichés of the suspense genre but, interestingly, most of them work amazingly well—even the shameless “boo!” moments made me jump in my seat. Similarly, while much in the narrative is predictable, the picture keeps viewers rapt at attention, plays on our expectations, and continuously surprises.

This is a revenge movie grounded by relatable human behavior rather than convoluted plot twists. Bateman, Hall, and Edgerton never overplay their roles—each uncovering rich layers of history and emotion within their respective characters. Their subtle and complex performances work in perfectly balanced harmony to smooth over the story’s few implausible contrivances and minor logic gaps. The Gift demonstrates how satisfying a thriller can be when a filmmaker embraces genre conventions instead of attempting to circumvent them.