The Gift (2015)

A young married couple's lives are thrown into a harrowing tailspin when an acquaintance from the husband's past brings mysterious gifts and a horrifying secret to light after more than 20 years.

Director:

Joel Edgerton

Writer:

Joel Edgerton

Stars:

Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, Joel Edgerton

2 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Bateman	...	Simon
Rebecca Hall	...	Robyn
Joel Edgerton	...	Gordo
Allison Tolman	...	Lucy
Tim Griffin	...	Kevin 'KK' Keelor
Busy Philipps	...	Duffy
Adam Lazarre-White	...	Ron
Beau Knapp	...	Detective Walker
Wendell Pierce	...	Detective Mills
Mirrah Foulkes	...	Wendy Dale
Nash Edgerton	...	Frank Dale
David Denman	...	Greg
Katie Aselton	...	Joan
David Joseph Craig	...	Stewart (as David Craig)
Susan May Pratt	...	Rhonda Ryan

Storyline

Simon and Robyn are a young married couple whose life is going just as planned until a chance encounter with an acquaintance from Simon's high school sends their world into a harrowing tailspin. Simon doesn't recognize Gordo at first, but after a series of uninvited encounters and mysterious gifts prove troubling, a horrifying secret from the past is uncovered after more than 20 years. As Robyn learns the unsettling truth about what happened between Simon and Gordo, she starts to question: how well do we really know the people closest to us, and are past bygones ever really bygones?

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Plot Keywords:

female protagonist | gift | compulsive liar | rape | substance abuse | 

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Taglines:

The Sins Of The Past Will Become Your Present.

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Instagram

Country:

USA Australia China

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 August 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Gift

Filming Locations:

15615 Castlewoods Drive, Sherman Oaks, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$11,854,273 (USA) (7 August 2015)

Gross:

$43,771,291 (USA) (2 October 2015)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blumhouse Productions, Ahimsa Films, Blue-Tongue Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Joel Edgerton and Jason Bateman appeared in Mi$e à prix (2006) together as well

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Goofs

While at Gordo's "dinner party", Simon does a small diatribe about Gordo. Later, we find that Gordo recorded them while he left the house for a few minutes. The captured audio played later in the movie does not match exactly what Simon said.

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Quotes

Ron: Normally, friendships grow organically. And if they don't serve both parties, they just kind of dissipate.
Simon: Yeah, that'd be great.
Ron: What you're talking about is, you know, an asymmetric thing. A one-sided friendship? I mean, essentially you're being forced into a breakup.

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Connections

References Apocalypse Now (1979)

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Soundtracks

Keep in the Dark
Written by James Edward Bagshaw, Thomas Edward Walmsley, Samuel Toms, and Adam Thomas Smith
Performed by Temples
Courtesy of Fat Possum Records
By arrangement with Zync Music Group LLC

User Reviews

well wrapped

Why as a seasoned movie addict and theatre visitor am I always amazed at the way the " Blockbusters" get all the press and gossip and fantastic movies like this slip through the net. Like last years immense " The Babadook ", this directional debut by Joel Egerton is a really good thriller and has had nowhere near the media coverage it deserves. It makes me so angry that the Marvel franchise gets rammed down our throats on TV and in fast food cafes and masterpieces slip through the net. Excellently directed and very well acted,this clever little well - wrapped gift is all we need to let us know that the proper movie making process is still alive and kicking. Very few special effects and perfect use of sound( or lack of it in some cases) with 1 or 2 shocks to keep us going,it carries a clear message of our past waiting to wreck our future. I think it cleverly slows pace half way through then wakes up in the last third.Grab it while you can guys cos this will just go after a week or 2.