The Gift

Actor Joel Edgerton ("Animal Kingdom," "Zero Dark Thirty," "Warrior") makes quite an impressive feature directorial debut with "The Gift." He also wrote the taut and unpredictable film that takes on the theme of how bullying can continue to affect lives decades after the fact. And he gave himself the most fascinating part in the movie.

Simon (Jason Bateman) is out shopping with his wife Robyn (Rebecca Hall) when they (by chance?) run into an old high school mate known as Gordo (Edgerton). Simon has no real recollection of Gordo, at first, but that changes pretty quickly. Gordo begins leaving gifts at their house and even shows up unannounced a few times. A few strange things occur prompting Simon to put his foot down and tell Gordo to get lost.

Meanwhile Robyn, who actually likes Gordo, begins to realize that Simon is hiding something about his past with the socially awkward Gordo and when she discovers the truth about what Simon did to Gordo back when they were teens, she is horrified and confronts her husband.

"The Gift" is nothing like what I was expecting. It's a damn good psychological thriller where most of the shocks and surprises are plot or character reveals, not gimmicky scares or random acts of violence.

We aren't ever really sure if it's Gordo who is doing all the things that are frightening the couple. And it's that ambiguity that makes the film exciting right down to the last twist, that final "gift" that gobsmacks the viewer.

The writer-director-thesp casts his film perfectly. Bateman is so likable that by the time we realize what an asshole Simon was in high school, we want to believe he's changed. And we hold onto that until we can't anymore. Good for Bateman for allowing himself to go dark.

Hall is just wonderful. She's a younger version of Molly Parker (IMDB her!) and is always compelling to watch.

Edgerton plays Gordo with just the right amount of mystery, apprehension and sincerity.

While some of the shots and lines are occasionally a bit too overly symbolic and obvious, the dynamics among the three characters make for a complex and fascinating sit.

"The Gift's" widescreen 2.40:1 aspect ratio has been neatly preserved and the film looks perfectly creepy with an ominous score that isn't, at all, obtrusive. The quiet moments truly spook.

Bonuses include an Alternate Ending that adds nothing to the film (good choice nixing it), 8 minutes of Deleted Scenes that feature more of Beau Knapp and Wendell Pierce, 2 scene stealing detectives, 2 crazy short featurettes (you shouldn't be allowed to call something a featurette unless it's over 5 minutes long) as well as an in-depth and detailed Audio Commentary by Edgerton and editor Luke Doolan, where the director celebrates the importance of editing and seems to enjoy discussing his first foray into filmmaking.

"The Gift"
Blu-ray, DVD & Digital HD
$18.62
http://www.uphe.com/