“Gifted” Presents a Bittersweet Reward

Release Date：Apr/12/2017

Genre：Drama

Director：Marc Webb

Cast：Chris Evans、Octavia Spencer、Jenny Slate、Lindsay Duncan、Mckenna Grace

Viola's Rating：7.1

While the next “Avengers” feature film is still under production, Chris Evans, the Captain America, can’t wait any longer to see his aficionados through his latest film, “Gifted”, which was released on April 12, 2017.

“Gifted” talks about the story of a single man, Frank Adler (Chris Evans) raising a child prodigy, his energetic niece Mary (Mckenna Grace) in a coastal town in Florida. Originally, Frank plans a normal school life for Mary just as his sister, Mary’s mom, would want, but things get complex when Frank’s mother Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan) is in the know on the seven-year-old’s mathematical abilities. Evelyn threatens to separate Frank and Mary.

This is Evans’ first time acting as a “dad” in a flick, not that he’s finally old enough (he’s 35, which is still young) to be a father, but a dad-like uncle character actually. Of course he’s known for playing Captain America, but from “Cellular”, “What’s Your Number?” to “Snowpiercer”, from “Fantastic Four” to his booming Marvel role, even if he’s the hero in the motion picture, he’s either a regular Joe or a frivolous playboy like Johnny Storm as Human Torch in “Fantastic Four”. However, this time, being Frank, not knowing whether what he’s doing is good for Mary, he’s going to continue no matter what. And that is the most touching aspect in “Gifted”.

Besides Evans’ amazing acting skill, the ten-yar-old little leading actress Grace shows her attractive talent as well. Every interaction between them touches the audience and experiencing Mary’s up and downs within 100 minutes is absolutely a reward a movie lover can ever have.

A brilliant picture not only exposes happy scenes, but also some complications that build up the climax of the feature film. However, in “Gifted”, most twists are a little bit too predictable, and there are a couple of excellent dimensions that could create better bookends than how they are right now. Mary’s attributes are presented through interactions with Frank, but there aren’t enough shots related to school which can accentuate her different characteristics.

There are a few scenes where the director used silhouette to not only produce the distance between characters and moviegoers, but also emphasize the intimacy between Frank and Mary. While telling the story of a prodigy, the film illustrates that being not normal is not abnormal, and being extraordinary can also live an ordinary life.

Although “Gifted” is not a fantastic flick that awes its audience, the true family love and friendship delivered in it touched as many people as possible. Along with the laughter and tears, unforgettable memories will be brought back from the theater as a bittersweet reward after exceptional 100 minutes of emotions.

Picture Credit: IMDb