The Gift — The Gift( Blu Ray/ UHD)
The Gift was the ninth feature film from Sam Rami- appearing in the year 2000, two years before he directed the first of his three box-office-topping Spiderman films. The picture is a steadily unfolding blend of small-town drama, thriller, and murder mystery - with light touches of dark fantasy and supernatural horror. It focuses on a single mom psychic played by Cate Blanchet- who gets tangled trying to find the fiancée of the town school principal. Here from Arrow Video is a release of the film- coming as either UHD or Blu-Ray- taking in a new 4k scan, two new commentary tracks, and a good selection of new and archive extras.
The Gift was shot in the small towns, swamplands and countryside of Georgia- which are used to great atmospheric effect. The film opens with slowly gliding shots of the crisp sun touch and moodily shadowed tree-set waterways- nicely pulling you into the pace and tone of the story and its setting.
Fairly soon we meet Anne Wilson (Blanchet) who is bringing up her three children alone- after her husband died in an accident the year before. She is very much the centre of the small-town community as she reads cards for many of the locals- been basically a true support/ shoulder to cry on. We meet several of her clients who come to her house for reading- there’s Valerie (Hilary Swank), who is in a psychically abusive relationship with shouty redneck Donnie(Keanu Reeves). And troubled, pale, and emotionally unpredictable mechanic Buddy (Giovanni Ribisi).
As the film steadily unfolds, we meet Wayne Collins (Greg Kinnear) the charming/ personable local school principal- who is due to get married to vapid and unfaithful socialite Jessica (Katie Holmes).
As I’ve mentioned a few times the pace is very steady in its unfolding- with Rami really letting us soak into the town's atmosphere and getting to know the characters. With some great performances throughout from the whole cast. It’s not until around the half-an-hour mark that Jessica goes missing, and local sheriff Pearl Johnson (J.K Simons) begrudgingly goes to Anne for help in tracking her down the socialite.
From the off the film truly does pull you in, and (largely) keeps you captivated for its nearly two-hour runtime-blending the compelling / well-painted drama, with effective moments of tension and thrills, and darts of supernatural horror/ fantasy- when Anne has a vision or is dreaming. My only real issue with the film comes in its last quarter- as a few scenes felt a little overstretched/ overdone, and I felt it would have worked better if it had tied up say ten/ fifteen minutes early- but this is a minor quibble, as The Gift is masterful scoped, very well acted, and engagingly plotted.
Moving onto the disc it’s self- we get a new 4k remastering of the film, which brings out clarity and depth to the picture- as well deepening the atmospheric sense southern gothic in the film.
Moving onto the extras- and we have a good selection of both new and archive fare. First off on the new side- we get two commentary tracks- one with critics Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson, and one with critic Meagan Navarro. I played the first of these two, and it’s a nicely chatty/ well informed affair. They begin by talking about when/ where they first saw the film, and how their love for it has grown over the years- as they declare it to exceptional gem of a picture- with a highly impressive cast- a true lightning in a bottle moment. They discuss how the picture was very much a transitional film for those involved. We find out the film is semi-biographical, with writer Billy Bob Thornton’s mother been a psychic- they also discussing another film he wrote 1996 Sling Blade- which was also based on his childhood in the American South. They talk about where Cate Blanchet's career was at this point- touching on other notable roles, and how much of the cast singed up because she was involved. We get quotes from interviews with Ms Blanchet regarding the film- finding out she meet a real psychic to research the role- and said psychic predictions came true. They talk about how the players in the films making came together. And discuss how the film is above and beyond its genre trappings- about family violence. Later on, they discuss elements of southern-gothic in the pictures make-up, and their meaning/ presentation. Talk about subtle suggestions with-in the films structure, and more. Well worth a play extra.
Otherwise on the new side we get the following: Haunting Visions (6.39) filmed interview with actor Chelcie Ross. Savage Waters (12.52) filmed interview with editors Bob Murawski and Arthur Coburn. Southern Gothic (8.05) interview with composer Christopher Young.
On the archive side we get the following things: four featurettes-The Gift: A Look Inside, The Making of The Gift, The Cast on Sam Raimi and Sam Raimi on The Cast. A selection of promotional interviews with Sam Raimi, Cate Blanchett, Keanu Reeves and Giovanni Ribisi. Footage from the film’s world premiere. Music video for “Furnace Room Lullaby” by Neko Case. Theatrical trailer, TV spots and radio spots.
With the finished release featuring an Illustrated inlay booklet featuring new writing on the film by Bilge Ebiri, original production notes and an excerpt from the book The Unseen Force: The Films of Sam Raimi by John Kenneth Muir. And reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Thinh Dinh.
I clearly recall The Gift from the days of Blockbuster- but never rented it at the time, as at that point I was after more primal horror-focused fare. But I’m so glad of this new release from Arrow Video- as it brings to light an excellent film, with a great new scan, and worthy extras. If you enjoy where drama meet thriller- with light touches of supernatural horror/ fantasy- this most certainly is a must!