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 | child prodigy | gifted child | school | elementary school | 

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Taglines:

How do you create an ordinary life for an extraordinary girl

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Screenwriter Tom Flynn had his script "Gifted" featured on the 2014 Blacklist and his screenplay would later be performed at the "Black List Live!" Reading Series at the Montalban Theatre in Hollywood in March of 2015.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the movie, Mary seems to have recently lost her two front teeth. Although the story clearly covers several months (court battles, changes of school...), the poor girl's new teeth never grow in, and at the end of the movie she is just as toothless as at the beginning.

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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

Referenced in AniMat's Crazy Cartoon Cast: Onward to the Age of Resistance (2019)

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Soundtracks

Girl Crush
Written by Lori McKenna, Hillary Lindsey and Liz Rose
Performed by Little Big Town
Courtesy of Capitol Nashville Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

A very good watch, especially for the acting and the direction. Loved the chemistry between Chris Evans and Mckenna Grace.

Great movie to watch. I loved the chemistry between Chris Evans and Mckenna Grace. Something to watch out. The direction is great and the story very much moving.

Story (8/10): Mary is a gifted child who is way above her biological age. She solves complex math problems and provides expert views on politics. However, her late mother's brother, Frank, is determined to give her a normal life like every other kid. However there is as much he can hide from the world, especially her school. Eventually, it turns into a courtroom battle of Mary's custody between Frank and his mother, Mary's grandmother, Evelyn, who wants to have her in top schools for gifted in the country and solve some of the all time great problems in mathematics. In the midst of all this, there is a secret kept safe around Mary's mother's death. While the plot isn't so powerful, the script was very well written which is why the movie was gripping and managed to keep audience's attention. I loved the character sketch of Mary and Evelyn in particular - very assertive, except that Mary had more subtlety instead of visible aggression.

Acting (9/10): Chris Evans is great in the role of Frank. His brilliant chemistry with Mckenna Grace is perhaps the reason the movie was so enjoyable. Mckenna Grace had definitely tough role playing a gifted child with all the jargons. However, the raw naughtiness she was able to project just normal to any child of her age brought a lot of life to her role. Lindsay Duncan was good too - reminded me of Leonard's mother from BBT. This was only the second movie of Octavia Spencer I've watched and she was good again even in a limited role. She made her presence felt strongly in the movie even with two other leading ladies more closely related to the protagonists. Overall, the movie had some very good performances to watch out for.

Direction (9/10): Marc Webb elevated an average story into an excellent cinema. His projection of the artistic side (right brain) of an otherwise math genius (left brain) was great and something to take away from the movie. The humor kept the movie light and fun to watch. I loved the way the relationship of Frank and Mary was projected. Some of the scenes, like the hospital one, were beautifully conceptualized and executed.

Overall (9/10): Overall, it's a very good watch, especially for the acting and the direction. Even though it's a drama but still not heavy.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site 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, 9 April 2017

Gross USA:

$24,801,212

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$43,069,254

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