The Girl with All the Gifts (2016)

A scientist and a teacher living in a dystopian future embark on a journey of survival with a special young girl named Melanie.

Director:

Colm McCarthy

Writers:

Mike Carey (novel), Mike Carey (screenplay)

Stars:

Sennia Nanua, Fisayo Akinade, Dominique Tipper

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 8 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sennia Nanua	...	Melanie
Fisayo Akinade	...	Kieran Gallagher
Dominique Tipper	...	Devani
Paddy Considine	...	Sgt Eddie Parks
Anamaria Marinca	...	Dr. Jean Selkirk
Gemma Arterton	...	Helen Justineau
Anthony Welsh	...	Dillon
Glenn Close	...	Dr. Caroline Caldwell
Mia Garcha	...	Melanie Double
Grace McGee	...	Anne
Eli Lane	...	Kenny
Connor Pratt	...	Peter
Joe Lomas	...	Joe
Will Brooks	...	Painted Boy
Joel Sheldon	...	T-Shirt Boy

Storyline

In a dystopian near future, humanity has been ravaged by a mysterious fungal disease. The afflicted are robbed of all free will and turned into flesh-eating 'hungries'. Humankind's only hope is a small group of hybrid children who crave human flesh but retain the ability to think and feel. The children go to school at an army base in rural Britain, where they're subjected to cruel experiments by Dr. Caroline Caldwell (Glenn Close). School teacher Helen Justineau (Gemma Arterton) grows particularly close to an exceptional girl named Melanie (Sennia Nanua), thus forming a special bond. But when the base is invaded, the trio escape with the assistance of Sgt. Eddie Parks (Paddy Considine) and embark on a perilous journey of survival, during which Melanie must come to terms with who she is.

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Plot Keywords:

experiment | bitten by a zombie | feral child | scientist | cure | 

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Taglines:

Our greatest threat is our only hope.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing violence/bloody images, and for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Page Official site [Japan]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 January 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Girl with All the Gifts

Filming Locations:

Birmingham, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£4,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

BFI Film Fund, Creative England, Altitude Film Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the book, Helen Justineau is described as a dark-skinned black woman in her 40's. Miss Justineau's dark skin is also a draw for Melanie, as the character states more than once in the book. Melanie also considers her teacher the most beautiful woman in the world. An excerpt from the book says; 'Although Miss Justineau's face stands out anyway because it's such a wonderful, wonderful colour. It's dark brown, like the wood of the trees in Melanie's rainforest picture whose seeds only grow out of the ashes of a bushfire, or like the coffee that Miss Justineau pours out of her flask into her cup at break time. Except it's darker and richer than either of those things, with lots of other colours mixed in, so there isn't anything you can really compare it to'. A short story written by Melanie in class describes Miss Justineau's general appearance: "Once upon a time there was a very beautiful woman. The most beautiful and kind and clever and amazing woman in all the world. She was tall and not bent over, with skin so dark she was like her own shadow, and long black hair that curled around so much it made you dizzy to look at her". Gemma Arterton, who is white, was cast for the role. She was in her late 20's when the film was shot.

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Goofs

Dr. Caldwell described the mobile lab is solar powered so they never have to stop which implied it is equipped with electric motor instead of combustion engine. But when Sgt. Parks went to the driver seat, he couldn't crank start the engine. Later, Sgt. Park repaired said engine and it starts like a diesel engine.

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Quotes

Melanie: Pretend to be scared of me.
Sgt. Eddie Parks: [Incredulous] Pretend?

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Connections

Featured in Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (2019)

User Reviews

Great zombie movie that's not really about zombies

I'm really aggravated by people who think this was a "boring zombie movie" that "wasn't scary." Look... the movie is called THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS. It's a movie about a girl... who happens to be a zombie... and her desire to come to terms with who she is, and her right to live in spite of it. NO it's not full of scares and gory zombie kills... that's not what it's about. If you can appreciate a good story about a little girl who happens to be a zombie then you'll see the beauty in this film. There still GREAT zombie action though... It was very well done, had an excellent cast, and Sennia Nanua shined.

Full commentary WITH spoilers on YouTube/Twitter @moviebuffchick1

https://youtu.be/wwm1nWFOwBI