“Good people deserve good things.”
Written & Directed by: Joel Edgerton
Starring: Rebecca Hall, Jason Bateman, Joel Edgerton
The H-Bomb: Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) are a young married couple who move into a lovely house not far from where Simon grew up. While picking up supplies for their new home, Simon is approached by a man named Gordo (Joel Edgerton), who claims that they went to high school together some twenty years ago. Though Simon barely remembers Gordo, Gordo most definitely remembers him.
The following day, while Simon is at work, Gordo stops by their home with some housewarming gifts for Robyn. Slightly taken aback by Gordo’s generosity, Robyn invites him to stay for dinner. Over the course of the meal, Gordo proves to be a most awkward conversationalist, as the discussion turns to such bizarre topics as government conspiracies, surveillance, and whatnot. Simon’s a bit creeped out by Gordo, as he recalls that he used to refer to him as “Gordo the Weirdo” back in school, and decides that he would rather not become friends with him.
Gordo, on the other hand, proves to be most persistent, as he comes by the house again with even more gifts. Having had enough of this one-sided friendship, Simon confronts Gordo, politely telling him to fuck off and to stay the hell out of his life and, more importantly, out of Robyn’s. A few days later, Robyn and Simon receive a letter from Gordo, essentially saying no hard feelings. The end of the letter, directed at Simon, however, is a bit disconcerting. It reads, “I was willing to let bygones be bygones.”
Simon claims he has no clue what bygones Gordo could be referring to, but Robyn doesn’t quite believe him. Not long after, Robyn finds that an intruder has been in their home, and that their dog has gone missing. It appears as though Gordo is going full stalker on their asses, and that the missing dog is just the beginning. But how far will he go? And just what happened between Gordo and Simon all those years ago?
I was first impressed by Joel Edgerton, the actor, when I saw him in the amazing Warrior from back in 2011. While I was aware that he was a writer, I had never seen anything he had written, aside from The Rover, for which he co-wrote the story, but not the script itself. With The Gift (not to be confused with the Sam Raimi film), however, Edgerton has made, dare I say, an exceptional writing and directing debut, as it is an intense, yet low key, psycho-drama that easily stands alongside It Follows and The Harvest as one of the best thrillers of the year.
The Gift is a deliberately paced, character driven picture that has very little on screen violence, though the threat of violence is ever present, hanging over the proceedings like a dark cloud, from pretty much the opening scene onward. Edgerton presents an all-too-familiar set-up, a nice family having to deal with an unwanted intruder who persistently shoe-horns himself into their lives. For the first thirty minutes or so, it moves along a fairly conventional path, to a point where we the audience think we have it all figured out.
It’s then that Edgerton starts throwing curve balls. Not by having some major incident happen, but by gradually revealing more and more about Simon’s past, and his history with Gordo. We learn that Simon is not quite the guy he initially appears to be, and Bateman, an actor I like, but don’t normally associate with dark, challenging roles, makes a startling transition, as he reveals a side of himself that even his own wife never knew was there. The role of Simon is a departure for Bateman, one in which the more we learn about him, the less we like him, and he pulls it off admirably.
English actress Hall, who made an impression with supporting roles in The Town and Transcendence, makes for a stellar lead, since we spend a considerable amount of time alone with her inside the house, with that uneasy feeling that she’s constantly being watched. Robyn herself has a tragic backstory, and she is vulnerable, but not weak. That’s important. An audience wants be afraid for a heroine, but they don’t want her to be helpless. It’s a balancing act that the script, and Hall’s performance, nail perfectly. Robyn is the moral center of the story, and Hall makes her wholly sympathetic.
The best performance in The Gift, however, belongs to Edgerton himself. With his beady little eyes and blank expression, he exudes menace from his every pore and made me slightly uncomfortable every time he was on camera. And I mean that in the best possible way. He’s exceptionally calm on the outside, but just under the surface, one can sense something festering. Gordo the Weirdo is going to do something horrible, we’re sure of it, we just don’t know when, or where, or how. What adds to Gordo’s effectiveness is that he disappears for a lengthy stretch of the film, during which we see and hear nothing of him, yet, we know he’s there… nearby… lurking… watching… Jesus, I’m creeping myself out, here.
Keeping the “villain” off screen for such an amount of time is unheard of, yet Edgerton uses it as a way to masterfully put us, the audience, on the edge of our seats. Unlike other films of its ilk, The Gift is not an over-the-top melodrama that relies on gore or jump cares. On the contrary, it’s a thinking man’s thriller, a slow burn that allows the characters to tell the story and gradually ratchet up the tension, that way when a major reveal comes at the end, it is genuinely unsettling. As an actor, Edgerton has proven himself quite capable, but if his work on The Gift is any indicator, his true talents lie on the other side of the camera.
