The Gift Movie Review 2000

Widowed mom Blanchett uses her psychic gifts to help find the murderer of rich girl Holmes in their Georgia town. Among those involved are battered wife Swank, abuser Reeves, Holmes's fiance Kinnear and mentally slow tow-truck driver Ribisi. By-the-numbers thriller loses steam after a promising start, but is saved by the performances of a fine cast. The characters are stock Southern Gothic types, but they're given dimension by the portrayals. Raimi shows (early on) that he still knows how to startle an audience and create a creepy atmosphere.

Distribution

Paramount Home Video, 5555 Melrose Ave., 5555 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90038, Phone: (323)956-5000, URL: http://www.paramount.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 112 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

American South, Sanity Check, Order in the Court, Domestic Abuse, Director/Star Teams: Raimi & 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88, Psychic Abilities

Screenplay

Billy Bob Thornton, Tom Epperson

Cast

Cate Blanchett, Katie Holmes, Hilary Swank, Keanu Reeves, Greg Kinnear, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Jeter, Gary Cole, Kim Dickens, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons, Chelcie Ross, John Beasley

Cinematography

Jamie Anderson

Director

Sam Raimi

Music

Christopher Young

Producer

Paramount Classics