THE GIFT (2015) 4.0

The plot for The Gift is solid, creative and features all kinds of twists and turns in all the right places. Without escaping the bounds of reality, The Gift left me puzzled at times and in horrid shock at others. To my surprise, within the first few minutes, we are already introduced to weirdo Gordo played by Joel Edgerton, also the writer and director of the film. He plays the role with the utmost conviction.  I think that most viewers will be able to relate to the story in that we all have a 'weirdo Gordo' in our lives; hopefully without the attached idiosyncrasies.

Playing Simon is Jason Bateman and his wife Robyn is Rebecca Hall. In my opinion, the pair is a bit odd and lacking chemistry. Where they do come together in a believable sense is as the movie starts to reveal Simon's past, which slowly coaxes out Robyn's angst towards her husband. We find that throughout his entire life, Simon has enjoyed many privileges. From class president in high school to his impressive office in California, Simon gets what he wants, even without saying "Simon says."

Setting the tone for the remaining 108 minutes at a casual dinner date, Gordo talks with Simon and Robyn about his past. As humbly as he can muster, he ends the evening by noting that "the bad things, they can be a gift." As soon as Gordo runs into Simon and Robyn, he showers them with gifts, starting with an innocent bottle of wine, then thoughtful glass cleaner, and eventually a school of fish to fill their pond and a DVD of Apocalypse Now. Gordo frequently encounters Robyn, as he stops by the house when she isn't home and lingers until he feels like there is a mutual welcome. Invited over to dinner, Simon and Robyn feel obligated to join and are convinced it will be tolerable learning another couple is invited. Last minute, the other couple cancelled allowing Gordo to have the two to himself until he urgently leaves the house for a "work call." Unable to resist the urge to snoop around, Simon and Robyn find many signs that Gordo has a family and children. When returning, Gordo confesses the call was his ex-wife and pulls on the heartstrings of Robyn. Simon immediately sticks to the plan telling Gordo, "I think it's better if you don't come to our house anymore."

This is the turning point of the film. Gordo continues to come to the house, but only without their knowledge to kill the gifted fish and temporarily steal the family dog, Bojangles. The police investigation reveals the fact that Gordo has a criminal record and the house they once visited was not actually his.

Gordo tries to mend the forced friendship with a letter and a few words of wisdom: "Let bygones be bygones." "It's really important to not look back." Simon and Robyn attempt to live their lives as they artificially were, but Robyn struggles with nightmares and constant paranoia. Soon, Robyn is pregnant and safety becomes an even larger concern. After her concerns are not taken seriously by Simon, Robyn takes matters into her own hands and talks to childhood friends of Simon about what really happened in school between the two. She learns of the rumor that Gordo was sent away from school after other kids were torturing him when they found his dad was caught molesting him in a car; this incident was reported by Simon. As Robyn takes a first hand approach at her investigation, Simon uses his connections to conduct an investigation of Gordo's past revealing arrest for attempting to kidnap a child and being dishonorably discharged from the military, leading him to file a restraining order against him but not make Robyn aware of this act.

Robyn finds the supposed secret background check on Gordo in Simon's locked desk drawer and truly loses all faith in her husband from this point on. She also learns after speaking with his school friends that Simon was (and still is) a bully, making up the entire story about Gordo and spreading rumors in school that he is gay. This led to issues at school and at home for Gordo, as his father tried to burn and kill him for hearing he was gay.

Forced to apologize, Simon attends trivia night where Gordo will be found resisting apology by suggesting, "You're done with the past but the past is not done with you," leading Gordo to be pinned in the parking garage. At this point, the true, ugly Simon is revealed convincing the audience to lose all hope in his innocence and good intentions. Soon after, the discovery surfaces that Simon framed Danny McDonald played by P.J. Byrne to get a promotion at work. In the midst of this revelation, Robyn goes into labor, which is where the plot line starts to race and the movie wraps up.

My main observance of the film is that it is a bit off balance with how the plot is revealed and when. It doesn't seem to follow a traditionally paced three-act film. The end is packed with action and huge "ah-ha" moments and the rest of the film leading up may have been better if it started working on these scenes early on. Despite the fact that the two just had a baby, Robyn tells Simon, "I don't want to go back to the house with you." When hearing this Simon leaves, as planned, to shower and grab a few things from home.

Upon his arrival, he finds a gift that will affect every day of his life. The gift is much more generous than it seems. Simon opens the 1, 2, and 3 gifts at home pushing him further into a feeling of guilt and shear anger as Gordo makes a surprise visit to the hospital to see Robyn. He brings with him a bouquet of congratulatory flowers along with scrapes and bruises from the parking garage encounter. At home, Simon slowly learns that his wife's paranoia was well-warranted, first listening to a recording of him and his wife speaking while he rushed away from their prior dinner plans, then viewing a video of an inappropriate violation of privacy.

The video reveals Gordo spying on the two, watching Robyn while she's sleeping and eventually breaking into the house on the day Robyn mysteriously fainted. Simon's fear comes to life as the video fades and Gordo (so we assume, as he is masked) drags Robyn's limp body to the bed and sits atop her. In tears, Simon views the scene and sprints to the hospital knowing Gordo has already made an appearance. The closing words from Gordo to Simon do not verify whether the violent sexual act happened, but rather leaves Simon to his own imagination saying "But a liar won't believe anyone else right?"

Closing the film is a sense of wonder for the audience to decide whether the baby is actually Simon's or Gordo's. My recommendation for the ending would be to add a flash forward to reveal the baby as a slightly grown toddler showing his hair color, as Simon and Robyn have dark brown hair, while Gordo's is red. The story line is impressive. The retaliation plan and the dedication to the role by Edgerton are well thought out and flawless.

Every baby is a gift, right?