Gifted

The trailers for this show had me intrigued. It certainly had allusions to Roald Dahl's "Matilda". The consensus of critics was that "Gifted" was good but predictable. I didn't find it all that predictable personally and the climax of this movie was a great payoff. Besides that, the acting in "Gifted" is its greatest quality.

The story of this film was well executed. To have Evelyn show up on Frank's door only after Mary is revealed to be a child prodigy makes her quite the antagonist. She is not entirely bad but it becomes apparent that Evelyn wants Mary to finish what Diane (Evelyn's daughter and Mary's mother) started. I love the court scenes, even the ones where Frank is painted as unable to provide custody. For the judge and the film audience, this case isn't an easy decision. On the one hand, Frank is the moral option and is Mary's choice while Evelyn can help Mary reach her full potential. The analogy of the judge's decision as a coin toss is a good one. When a compromise is offered, Frank has two options. He could hope that the judge sides with him but the risk is that should he lose the court case, Frank would have no chance of custody at all. By giving into the compromise, Frank still has the possibility of having custody again when Mary is twelve years old. Then the compromise is revealed to be a trap. Evelyn also probably planned to turn Mary against Frank by feeding Mary's anger towards Frank for not fighting hard enough for custody. Then come twelve years old, she may have not wanted to be with Frank anymore. The plot twist during the climax was a dramatic one. Some might ask that if Frank had proof of Diane's wishes for her daughter, why did he not come forward earlier such as during the trial? My thinking is that Frank probably wanted to protect his mother from the truth about Diane because of how hard Evelyn might take it. The scene where Frank walks his mother to her car after court session shows that they still have a connection. Frank also wanted to honor Diane's wishes. What forces Frank to come clean is when Evelyn violates the compromise agreed upon in court. As a side note, I love how Frank saves all the cats that were about to be put down that day and not just Fred.

The acting in this movie was awesome. Director Marc Webb made both "Amazing Spider-Man" films and so it makes sense he would chose a superhero actor for the lead in this movie. With Chris Evans as Frank, this show almost feels like a superhero movie. Mckenna Grace has a great future as an actress. I knew I had heard Jenny Slate's voice before. Considering that she is primarily a comedian, her performance as Bonnie was amazing. Octavia Spencer is the queen of supporting actresses. Her Oscar is just one piece of evidence for this but her second nomination from the year before the release of "Gifted" and her many film roles support my claim. Fun fact, Spencer and Slate both had voice roles in "Zootopia". I also applaud the performance of Glenn Plummer as Frank's capable lawyer. Usually in these kinds of stories, the underdog has an underdog lawyer but it was nice to see a change that gives us hope while watching the movie. The shot of Frank and Mary silhouetted by the sunset is Marc Webb's greatest moment in this movie. This is where the acting, direction, screenwriting and cinematography are perfectly balanced. What the characters talk about during this shot is a message I think should be taken seriously.

Considering that "Gifted" was released in April, I am not expecting any Oscar nominations to be handed out for the cast but they should be. Also, the story was strong and well depicted. The climax provided great resolution and I don't think anyone who sees this film will be let down.

4 Stars out of 5