Frank Adler
(Evans) is dedicated to a simple life as a freelance boat repairman. He lives is a community of tiny shacks
outside of Tampa with his seven-year-old, math genius niece Mary (Grace). They have a nice friendship with their
neighbor Roberta (Spencer), who babysits Mary when Frank goes to his favorite
lakeside bar. He gets quite friendly
with Mary’s first grade teacher, Miss Stevenson (Slate). Life is fine until Frank’s mother Evelyn
(Duncan) barges in & tries to get the courts to bring her granddaughter,
who she has never met, to Boston for a “proper”, advanced education.
Gifted is
the best movie about parenting this side of Ron Howard’s Parenthood a
quarter-century ago. Gifted is not about
young Mary. She is the match that lights
the fire that ignites the movie. This is
a movie about the fragility of childrearing.
Every choice you make as a parent, from which school they attend to the
type of ketchup they eat, will have long-term ramifications. We all know someone whose child is that
outstanding citizen or that one who doesn’t quite make it. Gifted is the perfect examination of the
latter. Evelyn Adler is, without mincing
words, a terrible person. Screenwriter
Tom Flynn (first theatrical credit since 1993’s Watch It) walks the fine line
between cartoonish evil & humanly evil but the script has its feet firmly
planted on the latter’s side. We all
know person who takes “helicopter parenting” a little too far and Evelyn fits
that definition to a T and Duncan excels in the role. It is pretty obvious that Frank is trying his
best but you can see in some of the smaller moments that he didn’t sign up for
this but he must give it 110% and Frank is game for trying.
Gifted
relies way too much on the courtroom in the second act. Most of the drama here is expository &
Flynn uses the court system as a crutch.
Luckily, director Marc Webb (free from the constraints of studio
interference of The Amazing Spider-Man) makes sure the courtroom doesn’t
overtake the genuine family drama here.
Outside the courtroom, Gifted works as a heart-tugger until the exceptional
third act reveal rips it out & dangles it in front of you. Additionally, there is a hospital waiting
room scene that will test your tear ducts.
Chris Evans
shows he is more than just Captain America here. But if you’ve been watching him for nearly 20
years, you know that already. Octavia
Spencer could play Roberta in her sleep but is still solid in the role. Jenny Slate is given too little to do outside
the first act but has enough charisma that she doesn’t litter the background
the few times she is on-screen McKenna
Grace as Mary is the rare young actor who outshines every adult. She has to be that talented in order to make
us believe that she is naturally writing all those equations & throwing out
all that mathematical jargon. Her
emotional scenes with Evans will lower your purse’s tissue inventory.
Gifted is
kind of movie that could have been a lazy, Saturday night Lifetime movie. Instead, what Webb puts together with a mostly
solid script & an exceptional cast is more than admirable. It’s thought-provoking & genuinely
touching.
****
