Gifted (2017)
Directed by Marc Webb
Frank, a single man raising his child prodigy niece Mary, is drawn into a custody battle with his mother.
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11 films that influenced Gifted
What critics say influenced Gifted
Like Gus Van Sant's Good Will Hunting and Jodie Foster's Little Man Tate, Marc Webb's Gifted reflects a thin, Hollywoodized vision of genius as an exceptional ability to solve complex calculus problems on a blackboard, usually while a stuffy professor looks on in stunned silence.
Yet the movie, like Jodie Foster’s similarly themed “Little Man Tate” (1991), doesn’t deepen or explore its central whiz kid’s experience.
You may or may not remember Jodie Foster’s 1991 film Little Man Tate having essentially the same plot.
But this contrived mashup of "Proof" (earth-shaking algorithms), "Kramer vs. Kramer" (nerve-wracking custody battles) and "Little Man Tate" really isn't much.
And as executed, the premise plays rather differently—more of a “ Kramer vs. Kramer ” meets “ Little Man Tate ” vibe.
The filmmakers seem well aware of the long tradition of movies about troubled but exceptional young minds, from “Little Man Tate” to “Good Will Hunting.”
Call it a dumbed-down Good Will Hunting .
Instead, the second act finds the film briefly paying homage to Good Will Hunting as Mary taps away on a chalkboard thrice her height in a certain unnamed Boston-based university.
The filmmakers seem well aware of the long tradition of movies about troubled but exceptional young minds, from “Little Man Tate” to “Good Will Hunting.”
The secretly-brilliant blue collar beer-drinker needs a more compelling differentiation from someone like the lead in Good Will Hunting to stand on his own, but he mainly exists as a nexus for the various arms of the plot.
In this case, the genius is a gifted natural, kind of like Matt Damon in “Good Will Hunting,” only a lot younger.
It’s essentially Good Will Hunting meets Kramer Vs.
…functions reasonably well as an ankle-deep melodrama until its third act, when characters are thrown into the gears of the plot machine, not unlike Steve Buscemi being fed into the wood chipper at the end of "Fargo."
I thought of Frank Capra’s movies like A Hole In The Head while watching this, or even something like The Parent Trap or Paper Moon.
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Even the fact that the movie borrows heavily from Good Will Hunting, Five Easy Pieces, family tragedies, custody-battle courtroom dramas, other Fox Searchlight feel-good flicks and every third egghead-vs.-jus’…
Mary’s astonishing gifts are reduced to so much elegant scribbling on a blackboard, accompanied by the kind of whirring-gears music that might have been lifted from “A Beautiful Mind.”
Picture Kramer vs. Kramer stripped of its turbulent emotions and cutting performances and you'll have a good idea of what it's like to suffer through this bland, tear-soaked train wreck.
Aspects of Kramer vs. Kramer and Good Will Hunting abound within Gifted , as do outright clichés, such as Frank having to carry a self-imposed burden of guilt for his sister’s suicide.
Precocious child actors can be annoying, especially when they’re playing kids brilliant beyond their years, but McKenna Grace, with appraising eyes, her top front teeth missing, and a sugary but brisk delivery that is never less than spontaneous, is like the Drew Barrymore of “E.T.” on speed-dial.
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Gifted observes a mathematical prodigy whose personality has squeezed out tact to make room for purer ability—think The Social Network’s Mark Zuckerberg as a first-grader.
It’s clear immediately that filmmaker Webb is looking to take a serious step back from his larger-than-life previous endeavors (including (500) Days of Summer and The Amazing Spider-Man ), as Gifted boasts as low-key an atmosphere as one could possibly envision – with the subdued vibe perpetuated by a lackadaisical pace, pared-down narrative, and emphasis on “gritty” camerawork.
It has most of the same ingredients: hunky guy (Frank Adler, played by Chris Evans), precocious child (Mary Adler, played by McKenna Grace), relatable love interest (Mary’s teacher Bonnie, played by Jenny Slate), wisdom-dispensin’ black neighbor (Octavia Spencer), and lots of sleepy, sun-drenched coastal Southern scenery, in this case Florida as shot by director Marc Webb ( The Amazing Spider-Man , (500) Days of Summer ).
Gifted marks a return to small-scale dramas for director Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man), whose debut feature, 500 Days of Summer, was a smart and sophisticated examination of young romance.
Yet after his 2009 hit film 500 Days of Summer , Webb flew over to the Marvel Universe and helmed 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man and the ensuing 2014 sequel.
I think the film’s biggest downfall is that Flynn and Webb (who’s been lost to the superhero machine that was The Amazing Spider-Man after turning heads with his debut (500) Days of Summer) paint Evelyn as a bona fide villain.
The movie is directed by Marc Webb, who won acclaim with the indie charmer (500) Days of Summer, then spent the last few years directing The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. I suppose Webb is here to wash the taste of needless blockbusters out of his mouth.