The Movie: Gifted
The Director: Marc Webb
The Cast: Chris Evans, McKenna Grace, Lindsay Duncan, Jenny Slate, Octavia Spencer
The Story: Frank, a single man raising his child prodigy niece Mary, is drawn into a custody battle with his mother.
The Review:
A few years ago, Marc Webb made a movie called 500 Days of Summer which I did not like. Then he made two Spider-Man movies which I really did not like. Now he has made a new movie which I can thankfully say that I really, really enjoyed. This time around, Webb has created a beautifully intimate drama that is filled with love, heartache, struggle, hope, and more than enough family drama to go around. The story is very well written and every scene is filled with very real and authentic moments that are only enhanced by the perfectly selected cast.
Chris Evans, for most of his career, has lived within the super hero genre so it was nice to see him outside of that world and his work in this movie tells me he's going to have a very long and successful career no matter what type of movie he makes. As a struggling father figure, he has the same sort of steadfast integrity that makes his Captain America seem so honest and personal and, once you see him side by side with the young and extremely talented McKenna Grace, you quickly realize that this was an absolutely perfect pairing. Jenny Slate, Octavia Spencer, and Lindsay Duncan are also very good in the film, but it's the relationship between Evans and Grace that really elevate this film to something special.
The Verdict:
Gifted is a movie that you will quickly fall in love with. It is a very strong effort from director Marc Webb and features some beautifully crafted performances from the entire cast. Fox Searchlight Pictures has always had a knack for finding films that would otherwise get lost in indie film obscurity and, this time around, they have given audiences an absolute gem. Go see this movie.
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