The Gift

When movie lovers are looking back on the best of 2001, they will still be marveling at the beauty, intelligence and seemingly effortless mastery of Ms. Blanchett's performance.

But there were few, if any, better performances in 2000 than the one Blanchett gives here, and Raimi's crafty blend of dramatic realism and supernatural knowledge is one of the year's best directing con jobs. more

The Gift delivers the lurid goods as a scary, sexy, twist-a-minute whodunit. more

Ingenious in its plotting, colorful in its characters, taut in its direction and fortunate in possessing Cate Blanchett. more

It's got the pleasing proportions of a stocking stuffed with agreeable little treats in the absence of an exciting big surprise. more

Blanchett's quietly radiant performance anchors even the most outrageous plot developments, and she's well-supported on all sides. more

If you love actors, it's the sort of thing you might be tempted to see a second time, even after you've found out whodunit, just to examine more carefully the way the performers -- particularly the mesmerizing Cate Blanchett -- weave shining silken threads around what's essentially a pretty uninvolving narrative. more

Blanchett projects a wounded dignity that anchors her character even when the film slips into silly hokum; she's never less than fantastic, and as such manages to keep the film on course. more

Overly familiar material, even well done, cannot be made more intrinsically interesting than it is. Not even by Cate Blanchett and Keanu Reeves. more

A good, old-fashioned suspenser. more

This is an interesting movie with a stellar cast. The performances are notable, particularly that of Giovanni Ribisi, who plays a mentally troubled auto mechanic who is on the verge of a complete meltdown. Keanu Reeves also does a star turn, as Hilary Swank's abusive and philandering husband. Cate Blanchett is excellent as the young, impoverished widow with kids, who just happens to have psychic gifts. The always underrated Greg Kinnear gives his usual excellent performance. The action takes place in a rural Georgia town, where Cate reads cards for clients in an attempt to make ends meet.... more

With a story and setting that could lead a director and cast down the well-travelled road of Southern Gothic cliches, THE GIFT instead rewards the viewer with intelligence, suspenseful and effective direction, and some superb acting by a very talented ensemble. Bily Bob Thornton had a hand in writing the screenplay, so the quality there should come as no surprise. The plot twists are expected as well, but they are done with such care and expertise that the audience is never really sure where they are leading. Cate Blanchett stars as Annie Wilson, a young widow with three sons to raise --... more

A wonderful treat for mystery lovers... Fantastic star cast is the icing on top of an excellent plot. The cast led by Cate Blanchett is accompanied by Hilary Swank, Katie Holmes, Keanu Reeves, Greg Kinnear and Giovani Ribisi. Rabisi, for his role as a emotionally disturbed man who finds solace in the character of Cate Blanchett, deserves at the very least an Oscar nomination. Keanu Reeves also gives a performance worth noticing of an abusive husband to Hilary Swank. Katie Holmes up to the mark as the promiscuous, rich young woman of the small little town in Georgia, where the movie is set.... more