THE GIFT is an all-too-familiar psycho thriller, a labour of love for actor Joel Edgerton who wrote and directed the piece as well as playing the psycho, whose motivations are better-written than usual for the genre. Unfortunately the film itself is a somewhat laidback production, one which lacks the tension that marks the best of the genre. The storyline feels familiar and too slow, and you never really invest in the lives of the main characters; Jason Bateman is perhaps too good at playing his jerk of a character, although British actress Rebecca Hall is very convincing for her part. The film has some decent twists and surprises at times, but the ending peters out to a real anticlimax that does nothing but make the viewer feel let down.
Review of The Gift
