The Gift
Director Sam Raimi delivers a long-awaited gift to fans of his earlier genre triumphs with this slight return to the voodoo of horror pictures past. Cate Blanchett stars as Annie Wilson, a widowed mother of three young boys who supports her family by giving psychic readings to her neighbors. When asked to help locate the missing daughter of a wealthy local socialite, Annie finds herself fixed between the horror of her own troubling visions and the real-life dangers posed by those who fear what her “gift” might unearth. Raimi and screenwriter Billy Bob Thornton (A Simple Plan)have spun this modest Southern gothic out of the dust and bones of standard murder mysteries, small-town melodramas, and classic ghost tales. While its lack of surprises may disappoint some, the film’s old-fashioned sincerity, with its focus on mood and character, is refreshing in a time when the genre seems burdened by an excess of irony, attitude, and gimmickry. The solid cast includes a bearded Keanu Reeves in a surprising turn as the local redneck wife-beater; Oscar winner Hilary Swank — trapped beneath a horribly unflattering poodle cut — as his long-suffering spouse; Giovanni Ribisi, who gives a, perhaps, overly earnest performance as the town’s borderline psychotic; Greg Kinnear and the perpetually underrated Gary Cole doing their usual fine work; and Katie Holmes playing against type as the unlucky vamp at the heart of the mystery. Still, if one element stands above the rest, it’s Cate Blanchett’s absolutely luminous central performance as the strong but vulnerable Annie. She brings an engaging simplicity and truthfulness to every moment that she’s onscreen, making The Gift, despite its limitations, a success. — D.G. [written for Barnes & Noble.com]