Review of Gifted (2017) by Patrick L — 17 Oct 2017

"The acting is not bad here and "Gifted" certainly means well but ultimately, this soft tearjerker doesn't know what is best for Mary or the audience.".

DVD Movie Review: Gifted.

Date Viewed: July 25 2017.

Directed By Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and (500) Days of Summer).

Written By Tom Flynn.

Starring: Chris Evans, Mckenna Grace, Lindsay Duncan, Jenny Slate, Octavia Spencer, Glenn Plummer, Elizabeth Marvel, John Finn, Keir O'Donnell, Jona Xiao and Julie Ann Emery.

"Gifted" I know you're trying to tell a story that matters but I'm disappointed by you movie, you fail for being gooey, sentimental, manipulative and unoriginal. You get a C. Don't get me wrong, a story that revolves around an intellectually gifted 7-year-old math prodigy could've gone somewhere but the movie devolves into a silly courtroom drama involving the care and custody of the child. The script by Tom Flynn has disappointing payoffs and it is entirely predictable. The little girl in the film played by Mckenna Grace is actually pretty good here and you believe her as a gifted math whiz but "Gifted" doesn't know what to do with her genius and it's nothing more than a chemical mix of both "Good Will Hunting" and "Kramer vs. Kramer".

Mckenna Grace plays Mary Adler, a very young girl who has remarkable mathematical abilities and she's about to start her first day of school in first grade. Mary lives in a small town near Tampa, Florida and she's being raised by her uncle, Frank Adler (Chris Evans). Her mother committed suicide when she was an infant so Frank was left to take care of her and also despite being really handsome he has a heck of a time getting a girlfriend.

When Mary's first grade teacher, Mrs. Stevenson (Jenny Slate) becomes impressed with her mathematical skills, Mary is then offered a scholarship by Principal Gloria Davis (Elizabeth Marvel) to go to a private school for gifted children but Frank refuses because he just wants Mary to have a normal school life. However, Frank's estranged mother, Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan) soon enters the fray and she wants to seek custody of Mary. Evelyn sees Mary as a one-in-a-billion child prodigy and she wants to prepare her for a life of mathematics but Frank strongly disapproves of her assessment, they take their custody battle to court and it all boils down to see which one of them is the better parental guardian for Mary.

"Gifted" was directed by Marc Webb who helmed "(500) Days of Summer" and the two "Amazing Spider-Man" films and he failed to web a gifted movie. "Gifted" also stars Octavia Spencer as Frank and Mary's landlady and best friend, Glenn Plummer as Frank's lawyer who helps him in his custody battle and a one-eyed cat named Fred. "Gifted" I know you have a story that's just as precious and cuddly as the one-eyed cat but you have to go deeper than this.

The acting is not bad here and "Gifted" certainly means well but ultimately, this soft tearjerker doesn't know what is best for Mary or the audience.