THE GIFT

Starring: Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, Joel Edgerton

Writer: Joel Edgerton

Director: Joel Edgerton

Married couple Simon (Bateman) and Robyn look to make a fresh start by relocating to California from Chicago as a result of a stressful lifestyle which caused Robyn to miscarry. And things certainly look promising for them. They've moved into a beautful home and Simon has landed himself a great job with the chance of a fast-tracked promotion. When they're out buying supplies for their new place that they run into Gordo (Edgerton), a high school classmate of Simon's. Initially Gordo seems friendly enough if, as Robyn observes, a little "socially awkward" and he welcomes them to the area with a number of thoughtful gifts. However, the more Simon sees of Gordo, the less he believes the outsider's motives are benign...

Produced by Blumhouse it would be fair to assume that, given that company's output in general, this could very well be Fatal Attraction for the Insidious generation, leaping from a quiet beginning into outright hysteria, packed to the rafters with jump scares and with its share of gore. Although that actually doesn't sound like such a bad flick, I'm pleased to say that Joel Edgerton's directorial debut is a much more subtle and smart affair, as concerned with the gradual unveiling of its plot twists and the motivations of its characters as it is with raising the pulse rate of its audience. Not to say there's a lack of suspense - far from it. There are some terrifically tense sequences which will test the arm rests of many a cinema seat and you might find yourself temporarily airborne above said seat on more than one occasion.

The performances are all top-notch. I'm not going to say Bateman is the real surprise here because it's plain that, as an actor, he has the talent to be so much more than the frustrated comedy foil in movies like Horrible Bosses. It's just good to see him get his teeth into a character with more complexity that ventures into darker territory and you probably won't see him in quite the same way after this role. Hall is excellent as the intelligent, vulnerable Robyn, the emotional core of the movie. Edgerton is great as Gordo, playing it with just the right amount of off-beam behaviour leaving you thinking he's probably an okay guy under the awkwardness but consistently doubting exactly where he's coming from. Sure, he doesn't look like the bogeyman, he doesn't really act like the bogeyman, but does that necessarily mean he isn't? Come to think of it, does Simon know something about Gordo that he isn't telling?

It's questions like these that make this such an enjoyable watch. No one is quite what they seem at the outset and the story doesn't stick to the usual "nice guys menaced by psycho" template. Edgerton's script (yep, he wrote this as well as directing and appearing in it - oh, and he's one of the producers as well) might occasionally flirt with implausibility but for almost all of the running time his characters behave in a very believable way and where you'd expect there to be violent, bloodthirsty confrontations the film wrongfoots you, leaving you with something far more deft and disturbing. Even during the stretches of the plot where Gordo's not around there's still a pervading sense of unease because you're never quite sure how far away he really is. Or is that unease caused by something else? Do you think I'm going to tell you in this review?

A genuine delight for thriller fans, The Gift is an unexpected, er, gift. As to the talents of the quadruple threat actor/director/writer/producer (did he do the catering too? I wouldn't be surprised if he did) that is Joel Edgerton, I'm in no doubt whatsoever. This is a thoroughly impressive, satisfying piece of work and I'm looking forward to whatever writing/directing project he turns his hand to next. Don't look this Gift horse in the mouth, go see it.

Okay, I apologise for that previous sentence. You should still see the movie though.