The Gift (film)
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| The Gift | |
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| Directed by | Sam Raimi |
| Written by | Billy Bob Thornton & Tom Epperson |
| Starring | Cate Blanchett Giovanni Ribisi Keanu Reeves Katie Holmes Greg Kinnear Hilary Swank |
| Music by | Christopher Young |
| Cinematography | Jamie Anderson |
| Editing by | Bob Murawski |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 2000 (U.S. release) |
| Running time | 112 min |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Gift (2000) is an American movie, directed by Sam Raimi, and written by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson.
It is a supernatural thriller, with the main character Annie (Cate Blanchett) becoming involved in a murder mystery as a result of her witnessing the crime with her "second sight". Other major characters are played by Giovanni Ribisi, Keanu Reeves, Hilary Swank, and Katie Holmes. Wayne (Greg Kinnear) is the missing woman's fiancee.
Tagline: The only witness to the crime was not even there.
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[edit] Plot
The film is set in the fictional southern town of Brixtol, Georgia, where Annie Wilson is the resident "fortune-teller." She is a single mother with three children; her husband died a year earlier in a mine explosion. The film is set into motion when the school principal's fiancée, Jessica King, goes missing. Annie receives a vision that Jessica has been killed and thrown in a pond. Her body is eventually found in the pond of Donnie Barksdale, a man whose battered wife, Valerie, had seen Annie for counsel. Donnie had gotten angry about this, and threatened Annie and her children. Donnie is put on trial for murder. Although Annie's psychic testimony is ridiculed by the defense, Donnie is eventually convicted and put in prison.
Throughout all this is the subplot of Buddy Cole's mental condition. He has an intense hatred for his father, and consistently has fits of seemingly unprovoked rage. Buddy eventually snaps and lights his father on fire, and is taken to a mental hospital.
Later, Annie receives another vision saying that Donnie is innocent. After driving out to the pond that night with Jessica's ex-fiancé, Wayne, she realizes that Wayne is the one that killed Jessica, angry that she had been cheating on him. Wayne discovers this, and attempts to kill Annie. But just as he is about to land a fatal blow, Buddy Cole shows up and knocks Wayne out. Buddy, Annie, and Wayne (who is stowed in the trunk) drive to the police station, where Wayne confesses. When Annie explains to Sheriff Pearl Johnson what happened at the pond, he informs her that Buddy Cole hung himself at the mental hospital earlier that day. However, Annie still has her handkerchief that Buddy returned to her coming back from the pond. The film ends with Annie and her children visiting the grave of her husband.
[edit] Remake
A Bollywood remake of this film was released in 2004 titled Rakht: What If You Can See the Future starring Bipasha Basu, Sunil Shetty and Sanjay Dutt.
[edit] Cast
- Cate Blanchett (Annabelle "Annie" Wilson)
- Giovanni Ribisi (Buddy Cole)
- Keanu Reeves (Donnie Barksdale)
- Katie Holmes (Jessica King)
- Greg Kinnear (Wayne Collins)
- Hilary Swank (Valerie Barksdale)
- Gary Cole (David Duncan)
- J.K. Simmons (Sheriff Pearl Johnson)
- Chelcie Ross (Kenneth King)
- Michael Jeter (Gerald Weems)
- Kim Dickens (Linda)
[edit] Trivia
- The movie is known for Katie Holmes' topless scene. This movie was also mentioned in the movie Harold and Kumar go to White Castle because of the aforementioned topless scene. The soundtrack featured Neko Case's Furnace Room Lullaby.
[edit] External links
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