Gifted (2017)

Frank, a single man raising his child prodigy niece Mary, is drawn into a custody battle with his mother.

Director:

Marc Webb

Writer:

Tom Flynn

Stars:

Chris Evans, Mckenna Grace, Lindsay Duncan

6 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chris Evans	...	Frank Adler
Mckenna Grace	...	Mary Adler (as McKenna Grace)
Lindsay Duncan	...	Evelyn Adler
Octavia Spencer	...	Roberta Taylor
Jenny Slate	...	Bonnie Stevenson
Michael Kendall Kaplan	...	Justin Gilmore
John M. Jackson	...	Judge Edward Nichols
Glenn Plummer	...	Greg Cullen
John Finn	...	Aubrey Highsmith
Elizabeth Marvel	...	Gloria Davis
Candace B. Harris	...	Carly Rosen
Jon Sklaroff	...	Seymore Shankland
Jona Xiao	...	Lijuan
Julie Ann Emery	...	Pat Golding
Keir O'Donnell	...	Bradley Pollard

Storyline

Frank Adler (Chris Evans) is a single man raising a child prodigy - his spirited young niece Mary (Mckenna Grace) in a coastal town in Florida. Frank's plans for a normal school life for Mary are foiled when the seven-year-old's mathematical abilities come to the attention of Frank's formidable mother Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan) whose plans for her granddaughter threaten to separate Frank and Mary. Octavia Spencer plays Roberta, Frank and Mary's landlady and best friend. Jenny Slate is Mary's teacher, Bonnie, a young woman whose concern for her student develops into a connection with her uncle as well.

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Plot Keywords:

lawyer | trial | reference to the trachtenberg system | ginger cat | child prodigy | 

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Taglines:

The inspiring story of how to create an ordinary life for an extra-ordinary child...

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, language and some suggestive material

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 April 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gifted

Filming Locations:

Savannah, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$446,380, 7 April 2017, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$24,801,212, 24 August 2017

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$40,193,907, 10 October 2017

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dayday Films, FilmNation Entertainment, Fox Searchlight Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

McKenna Grace would later play a child prodigy on "Young Sheldon".

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Goofs

In the German version the product of 57 and 135 was mistranslated into 7659. This is no excuse for the translators but in German the unit position is spoken before the ten-digit. So seven thousand six hundred fifty nine was translated in that order.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Frank Adler: [through the door] Hey! Hey, come on. Let's move!
Mary Adler: No!
Frank Adler: Let me see.
Mary Adler: No.
Frank Adler: Come on, I made you special breakfast.
Mary Adler: You can't cook.
Frank Adler: Hey, Mary, open up.
[as she emerges]
Frank Adler: You look beautiful.
[...]

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Connections

Features Ice Age (2002)

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Soundtracks

Frankie's Gun!
Written by Greg Farley, James Felice,Ian Felice, Simone Felice and Josh Rawson
Performed by The Felice Brothers
Courtesy of Team Love Records
By arrangement with Bank Robber Music

User Reviews

Charming And Gripping

I knew nothing about this film. Had seen no adds, heard no word of mouth, pretty much nothing.

I only found it only after tapping out the local AMC 24 and driving a few extra miles to see something new.

The premise was intriguing: What to do with a seven year old mathematical prodigy caught between a cozy, loving household occupied by her doting Uncle Frank and a one-eyed cat named Fred, and a challenging but cold academic world ready to pace her on mental treadmills for the rest of her life.

McKenna Grace plays little Mary who's character is at the center of attention whether she likes it or not. Mostly not.

Grace's performance does raise a few eye brows as she very convincingly plays a precocious and genius little girl plagued with boredom being surrounded by the dead-weight of average students she has nothing in common with.

In fact, Mary's personality is also far developed beyond her peers, exhibiting a sarcastic and jaded sense of humor more on par with a bunch of 40-year olds downing a shot or two after a particularly bad day at work.

After Mary's abilities are discovered by her first grade teacher, the inevitable battle for command of her future quickly unfolds.

One very powerful supporting role is supplied by Lindsay Duncan who portrays Evelyn the Grandmother. Evelyn is a poised and proper Englishwoman armed with a titanium intellect few would want to challenge. As the legal proceedings unfold, Evelyn verbally fire-bombs the entire court room from the stand without batting an eye in her fight for custody of Mary.

Her arguments and assessments are hopelessly air-tight and seamless, leaving Uncle Frank and his lawyer scrambling.

Frank just wants Mary to be a little girl. Grandma wants to plug her into The Matrix. Who will win?

'Gifted' is not without it's displays of some original laughs. My favorite was a scene in which little Mary discovers her Uncle Frank is sleeping with her 1st grade teacher, who one morning comes stumbling into the kitchen wearing only a towel.

Their reaction to each other is priceless.

As to why this production is flying under the radar with virtually no advertising or promotion is baffling.

The hour-and-a-half flew by for me and left me with an odd feeling it ended too soon. Aside from that, there was almost nothing wrong with this film, at least not that I could find.

Warm, unique and entertaining, 'Gifted' should stay with you for days afterwards.

A great family night movie.