The Gift DVD

Sam Rami, better known for directing the "Evil Dead" and "Spiderman" series of films, did a gem of a movie several years ago with a cast that included two Oscar winners (Cate Blanchett and Hilary Swank) and Oscar-nominated Greg Kinnear. Keanu Reeves, in one of his better performances, is in it, along with Giovanni Ribisi, Katie Holmes and Michael Jeter. What an all-star cast! If that wasn't enough, Oscar winner, Billy Bob Thornton, and Tom Epperson wrote the script. What they created was something very special. It wasn't so much a horror movie as a thriller centered on a widowed mother of three, living in a small southern town and who's able to see the future of other people and the turmoil this eventually creates when the town's promiscuous debutante is murdered. In many ways, I consider The Gift to be Rami's best film to date because of its humanity, its look at a special skill I believe some people actually have, and the premise that there is life after death.

The Gift refers to the psychic ability that widowed Annie Wilson (played by Blanchett) has and how she uses it for card readings to support her family. Keeping a low profile and with many of the town's women coming to her for practical and emotional advice each day, Annie suddenly finds herself caught in the middle of a controversy when she psychically sees the murder of the town's sexually active debutante (played by Katie Holmes). Because of the Annie's visions, the local sheriff is led to believe that the abusive husband (Keanu Reeves) of one of her clients (Hilary Swank) is the murderer, especially since he was having an affair with her. It doesn't help that Reeves' character had also been harassing and threatening Annie's family because of the advice she'd given to his wife. All, however, isn't what it seems. There are lies and deceptions to weed through, and Annie will have to put her life on the line to get to the truth.

What made this move work for me was the realism Cate Blanchett brought to the role of Annie Wilson. Though British, Blanchett seemed to become an actual low-income woman of the South with three kids to take care of and no prospects of a better future since the death of her husband. I, as a viewer, immediately cared for Annie and her struggles and what she went through after the murder of Katie Holmes' character. Of course, it helps that all of the other actors were right on the mark, too. Keanu Reeves captured the meanness of a redneck abusive husband perfectly. Giovanni Ribisi was also great as one of Annie's clients--a mechanic with his own demons to battle, yet he's secretly in love with her and always takes up for her and her children, even at the end. Then, there's Greg Kinnear as the good-hearted school principal, who's the fiancé of Katie Holmes' character, and whom you hope will get together with Annie by the end of the film. The acting is superb and the script flawless and the direction brings everything together into a film that's on its way to becoming a classic. Let me say again that this isn't a horror movie, but rather a suspenseful thriller with strong supernatural overtones. This is definitely a film I can watch over and and still enjoy it. The DVD has a behind-the-scenes' featurette that is also quite good.