The Gift (2015)

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Movie
German title The Gift
Original title The Gift
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2015
length 109 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Joel Edgerton
script Joel Edgerton
production Jason Blum ,
Joel Edgerton,
Rebecca Yeldham
music Danny Bensi ,
Saunder Jurriaans
camera Eduard Grau
cut Luke Doolan
occupation

The Gift is an American psychological thriller from 2015 that deals with the topics of bullying , revenge and atonement. A young married couple is swept into a vortex of suspicion when a former acquaintance of their husband gives mysterious gifts and a gruesome secret from the past is revealed. Leading actor Joel Edgerton wrote the script , directed and was producer .

action

Simon and Robyn Callem, a married couple from Chicago, move to the Los Angeles suburbs when Simon takes a new job. While shopping, they meet Gordon "Gordo" Moseley, Simon's former classmate. Gordon starts giving unsolicited gifts, a bottle of wine, window cleaner, and koi for her pond. While Simon is increasingly uncomfortable with this, Robyn sees no problem in it. Gordon invites both of them to his large and elegant house. He takes a call and suddenly has to leave the house, which Simon finds suspicious. When he comes back, Simon tells him to stay away from his family. The next day, Robyn finds the dead koi in the pond and her dog has disappeared. Simon drives to Gordon's house to confront him, but Gordon's not home. In the days that followed, Robyn had the queasy feeling that she wasn't alone when Simon went to work. Unable to sleep, Robyn sneaks up to her neighbors and steals a prescription drug. After taking it, she faints.

The dog returns later and Gordon sends a letter asking for his apology. Robyn is confused by this letter because he says that he is "ready to let the past rest". Simon doesn't know what Gordon is talking about either, but is ready to make peace. He suspects that taking the drug makes Robyn paranoid. Robyn becomes pregnant. At a gift party, Simon's sister tells her that Simon and his friend Greg Gordon reported sexual abuse at the time. At the time, Gordon was bullied about it and had to move away. Robyn visits Greg and questions him about this incident. Greg admits that Simon made up the abuse story. He describes Simon as a bully with a "really bad streak". As a result of this slander, Gordon's father thought his son was gay and almost beaten him to death for it before sending him to the military. When asked why Simon could only do something like that, Greg replies: "Because he could."

Robyn searches Simon's desk and finds extensive information in it that he has obtained about Gordon and a man named Danny McDonald. Robyn also finds out that Simon was promoted instead of Danny for previously discrediting him with information about a previous job. Robyn confronts Simon, but Simon rejects any guilt. He furiously accuses her of only imagining these connections, as she was bullied even when she was in school. At Robyn's behest, Simon goes to Gordon and apologizes half-heartedly. This does not accept the apology, whereupon Simon attacks him physically. Simon is giving a party for his promotion. This is interrupted by Danny who, in front of everyone present, accuses him of fabricating the information that destroyed his career. Robyn goes into labor, arrives at the hospital and has a son. The next day, Simon's manager calls him, who informs him that his slander has been exposed and that he has been fired. Then Robyn demands the separation.

When Simon returns home, he finds another present. It contains footage showing Gordon preparing for the sexual abuse of Robyn, who passed out after her drug-induced fall. At the same time, Gordon visits Robyn in the hospital to congratulate her. He has one arm in a sling and reports that it is Simon's fault that he is injured. Simon races back to the hospital, but Gordon is nowhere to be found. He calls Simon and mocks him that he may have raped his wife. He says that Simon should think about whether the child is actually his.

Robyn, beside himself with anger, won't let Simon to the baby. Simon collapses when he realizes that marriage and career have been ruined. Gordon watches him. As he moves away, he pulls his arm out of the sling.

criticism

On the website Critic.de , Johannes Bluth finds it “remarkable” how the film repeatedly manages to “turn the balance of power within the plot”. The result is "a cracked panopticon of hasty impressions and evaluations", which repeatedly questions, "always enriched with a good pinch of paranoia ". The Standard wrote the film convince "a good measure of suspense with precision using the usual stylistic devices". According to the Tagesspiegel, "Edgerton plays his Gordo as a seemingly dispassionate figure, nice and for that very reason scary", but Jason Bateman steals "the show from him when he turns from a sensitive husband into a tough villain".

Awards

Sitges Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya

  • Best Actor: Joel Edgerton

Fangoria Chainsaw Award

  • Best Supporting Role: Joel Edgerton
  • Best film (nominated)
  • Best Screenplay (nominated)

Directors Guild of America Award

  • Best first work (nominated)

Empire Award

  • Best Thriller (nominated)

Saturn Award

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Certificate of Approval for The Gift . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , November 2015 (PDF; test number: 155 830 K).
  2. ↑ Johannes Bluth: The Gift - Critique . In: Critic.de . November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  3. ↑ Michael Pekler: The Gift: Evil lives next door . In: DerStandard.at . November 27, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  4. ↑ Marta Danowska-Kistel: At the movies: The Gift . In: Tagesspiegel.de . November 25, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2017.