The Gift (2000)

This week for the A-to-Z Part Deux Challenge we have the letter “E”. For the letter “E” we’re looking at Ed Novick (Production Sound Mixer). The movie that Ed Novick worked on that we’re watching this week is The Gift (2000).

Title: The Gift

Director: Sam Raimi

Released: Hollywood premiere was on December 18, 2000, limited release on December 22, 2000.

Runtime: 1 hour 51 minutes

Available to stream on: MGM+, Paramount+, and Prime Video

IMDb synopsis: A fortune teller with extrasensory perception is asked to help find a young woman who has mysteriously disappeared.

Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchett) is a tarot card reading clairvoyant fortune teller in small town Brixton, Georgia. When Jessica King (Katie Holmes), the fiancée of the local principal, Wayne Collins (Greg Kinnear), Annie has a vision. She can see that Jessica was killed and her body dumped in a pond.

Sheriff Pearl Johnson (J.K. Simmons) is hesitant to believe the story of her vision that Annie has told him. However, the Sheriff winds up searching a pond around the property of one Donnie Barksdale (Keanu Reeves).

If you’re asking yourself who Donnie Barksdale is, just remember that this is all happening in a small town. Everyone is tied up in everyone else’s business somehow. In the case of Donnie, he just happens to be the abusive partner of another of Annie’s clients, Valerie Barksdale (Hilary Swank).

But wait, there’s more.

We also have the angry Buddy Cole (Giovanni Ribisi). Why’s he so angry? Well, it takes us a bit to get to there because Annie is so wrapped up in the disappearance of Jessica that she keeps pushing off and ignoring Buddy any time he tries to have a serious conversation with her.

With all of her focus and attention on bringing Jessica’s murderer to justice, she begins to have more visions.

Will these visions bring clarity to the situation?

Can Annie’s visions continue to be trusted?

If that sounded a tad convoluted, you’re not alone. There’s a lot going on in The Gift (2000) and unfortunately for me, it never came together.

With an absolutely stacked cast, I kind of expected more. It seemed as if each actor had their own variation of a Southern accent that they were committed to. Some of the characters felt half-fleshed out, at best. There are tons of shaky jump cuts that take you out of the moment. And there are times where the runtime of an hour and fifty-one minutes feel like it’ll never end.

But that’s not to say that there wasn’t anything that I enjoyed here. Both Cate and Keanu were great in their respective roles. They made it worth sitting through. The overall premise is one that’s interesting and could be a lot of fun.

A lot of people put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into this project. Just because one random person on the internet didn’t particularly enjoy it doesn’t mean that it’s a bad movie. Whether it’s good or bad is up to you to decide.

Everything deserves at least one viewing.

Well, that’s what I thought of The Gift (2000), but what did you think of it? Hit me with your thoughts in the comments below or by reaching out on social media!

Next week we have the letter “F”. By now you know what to expect. Keep an eye on the Instagram and Threads accounts on Wednesday for the reveal of next week’s crew member and movie.