The Gift limited edition 4K Ultra HD (film review).
Originally released in 2000, ‘The Gift’ follows widowed Annie Wilson (actress Cate Blanchett), who has three sons and is a practicing psychic in Georgia. A lot of the opening is establishing her credentials. Actor Keanu Reeves plays bad guy Donnie Barksdale twice, which is a rarity. Donnie Barksdale, played by actor Keanu Reeves, is a wife-beater who objects to his wife Valerie (actress Hilary Swank) seeing Annie and makes some serious threats.
Jessica King (actress Katie Holmes) is missing, and her family, along with the less certain Sheriff Pearl Johnson (actor J.K. Simmons), ask her if she can assist. A tarot reading doesn’t help. An overnight dream gives clues, and she sees Johnson and convinces him to check some of the local ponds that match her details. One of them is on Barksdale’s land and proven correct.
One of Annie’s other clients, Buddy Cole (actor Giovanno Ribisi—you might recognise him from ‘The X-Files’), goes off the rails and burns his father and is locked up.
In the court case, Barksdale’s fiery temper leads to his conviction, but later, Annie comes to believe he wasn’t the murderer. I identified five potential suspects and ultimately identified the correct one, although a significant portion of this information may be spoilt.
This is really long and drawn out. Expect something more akin to a local town grappling with its own problems and a small-time psychic striving to find harmony. The story could even work as a TV movie with a more recognisable cast.
There are two audio commentaries. The first is with Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson, both heavy fans of the film. Co-scriptwriter Billy Bob Thornton based elements of the plot on his childhood, and his mother was a psychic. Cate Blanchett’s presence in the film attracted the cast. They spend a significant amount of time exchanging information about the film.
The second one features film critic Meagan Navarro and provides a detailed analysis of the film, highlighting some notable Sam Ramisms along the way.
‘Haunting Visions,’ a newly filmed interview in 2024 with actor Chelcie Ross (father of the murdered woman?), runs for nearly 7 minutes about the film and cast members.
‘Savage Waters,’ a newly filmed interview with editors Bob Murawski and Arthur Coburn in 2024, runs at 13 minutes. Murawski did the third edit of the film. Coburn treated it as a family drama. Coburn provided extensive insights into the editing process, which included enlisting Christopher Young for the music.
‘Southern Gothic,’ a newly filmed interview with composer Christopher Young in 2024, runs at 8 minutes. He sees himself in the same clothes as director Sam Rami.
There are four archive featurettes: ‘The Gift: A Look Inside’ (10 minutes), ‘The Making Of The Gift’ (7 minutes), ‘The Cast On Sam Raimi’ (5 minutes), and ‘Sam Raimi On The Cast’ (nearly 4 minutes), all from the year 2000, and they give some intriguing insight as well as who is putting on the accents.
Then there are the promotional interviews with Sam Raimi (6 minutes), Cate Blanchett (nearly 4 minutes), Keanu Reeves (nearly 3 minutes), and Giovanni Ribisi (just over 2 minutes).
Footage from the film’s world premiere runs at nearly 5 minutes with many mini-interviews.
The music video for ‘Furnace Room Lullaby’ by Neko Case runs at nearly 3 minutes.
Theatrical trailer, TV spots, and radio spots
You get more with the final disc, a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Thinh Dinh. An illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Bilge Ebiri, original production notes, and an excerpt from the book ‘The Unseen Force: The Films Of Sam Raimi’ by John Kenneth Muir.
GF Willmetts
January 2025
(pub: Arrow Films, 2024. 1 UltraHD disk 112 minute film. Price: £29.99 (UK).
cast: Cate Blanchett Keanu Reeves Giovanni Ribisi Hilary Swank
check out website: www.arrowfilms.com/4k/the-gift-limited-edition-4k-ultra-hd/15743064.html