Gifted (2017)

[wlk68]

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Frank, a single man raising his child prodigy niece Mary, is drawn into a custody battle with his mother.

Stars Chris Evans, Octavia Spencer and McKenna Grace.

I really enjoyed this. Octavia was her usual sassy self and McKenna was adorable. She did a great job. It was nice to see Evans in a role where he's not dressed in spandex, throwing the shield around and punching Hydra goons. Don't get me wrong, he's great as Captain America but he's so much more than that.  

[Shannon L.]

55 minutes ago, wlk68 said:

I really enjoyed this. Octavia was her usual sassy self and McKenna was adorable. She did a great job. It was nice to see Evans in a role where he's not dressed in spandex, throwing the shield around and punching Hydra goons. Don't get me wrong, he's great as Captain America but he's so much more than that.  

I was thinking about starting a thread for this movie and I was going to say exactly that same things about all of them.  Seriously.   How beautiful was that sunset scene when they were talking about God?  Not only did I love the silhouette and dialog, but the way she was climbing all over him was so real and charming.  In spite of some good, emotional scenes, throughout, that was my favorite moment. 

I said in the Romantic Comedies thread that it's too bad that they aren't doing too well these days because Chris Evans would be perfect for them. 

[AimingforYoko]

I liked that they didn't make the Grandmother too much of a villain, she just suffered from a bit of tunnel-vision. The ending was a good compromise.

[wlk68]

I loved that silhouette scene as well. I love how he talked to her honestly, and without dumbing anything down. And he did that throughout the whole movie. He knew she was a smart kid and he never treated her like a baby or said you're too young to understand.

I think I want to see this again.

ETA: AimingforYoko, I respectfully disagree. I think the grandmother was a selfish bitch. I will never forgive her for what she did to Fred. And the fact that she totally dropped Mary like a hot potato in order to take her dead daughter's math solution on a world publicity tour. Mary was of no further use to her anymore so ... buh-bye. That line about not releasing Diane's work until the grandmother was dead told me all I needed to know about her. Just my two cents.

Edited April 17, 2017 by wlk68

[Nidratime]

I just saw this movie tonight and enjoyed it. The fact that, when the story ended, I still wanted to follow their lives and know what happened is illustrative of how engaged I was by the characters. It did occur to me, though, when Frank and his mother were in court battling over custody and the court learns that Frank has a freelance boat repair job and no health insurance but he had been an Assistant Professor at one time, why didn't Frank just bite the bullet and tell the court he would get a "real" job with health insurance. He clearly has the credentials to get something with a salary and benefits.

On a side note, I was so happy Frank not only rescued Fred from euthanasia, but the two other cats as well. I'm enough of an animal person to wonder what in the world did he do with the other two!? (Unless he kept all three of them to ensure his mother would never darken his doorstep again.)

[Shannon L.]

10 hours ago, Nidratime said:

On a side note, I was so happy Frank not only rescued Fred from euthanasia, but the two other cats as well. I'm enough of an animal person to wonder what in the world did he do with the other two!? (Unless he kept all three of them to ensure his mother would never darken his doorstep again.)

Fun fact:  Chris Evans saw a dog in the shelter that they were filming at and couldn't leave him there, so he adopted him.   :)  I would hate filming in a shelter because I'd want to take all of them!

I do wish there had been even a short discussion about why he left teaching and why he was so averse to going back to it.  The story was well under 2 hours, so they could have had the time (unless they did mention it and I missed it or am forgetting it).   

[Nidratime]

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I do wish there had been even a short discussion about why he left teaching and why he was so averse to going back to it.  The story was well under 2 hours, so they could have had the time (unless they did mention it and I missed it or am forgetting it).

I don't recall hearing any explanation. We can only surmise that both Diane and Frank had a love-hate relationship with Academia as a result of their mother's pushiness, control, and need to live through them. It's clear they both had natural talents, although Diane's seemed to be off-the-charts, and had a love for what they studied, but their mother's expectations of them were so unremitting, it had to have been a major turn off for them.

I'm assuming when Diane died and left Mary in Frank's care, the foremost thought in his mind was to get as far away from his mother and old life as possible, which probably didn't allow for much advance planning. Furthermore, his mother could find them much more easily if he took up another academic post as opposed to a job that he literally did off the books.

Furthermore, we do know that Frank felt enormously guilty for not seeing that his sister was in so much trouble. He talks about how he let his sister down. It's possible he was so wrapped up in his own life, including his work, that he now sees it as further proof that that kind of absorption blinds you to life, to the needs of those around you, and of what's really important.

[scriggle]

I went to see Gifted today. I was shocked at how many people were in the theater. I counted 40 and this was at the first matinee. The last time I went to the movies was to see Captain America: Civil War (yeah, I don't go to the movies very often), there were maybe 15 people at the first matinee the second week after its opening.

Back to Gifted. I liked it. There were a couple of occasions where it brought tears to my eyes. McKenna was very good. Octavia was awesome. Jenny was okay though the whole romance was really unnecessary and thankfully very secondary to the main story. Chris gave a wonderful quiet performance. It's great to actually be able to see his entire face. And god, his eyes. He does so much with his eyes in this.

Was it perfect? No, but I can forgive it its flaws. Because Chris was soft and beautiful and luminous and his hair was mussy and floofy. (yes, I'm wallowing in the shallow end of the pool.)

[Morrigan2575]

Glad to hear the good reviews for Chris Evans. He's generally a stand out in most movies but, I wasn't sure if he could do well in a drama.

[wlk68]

On ‎4‎/‎25‎/‎2017 at 4:01 PM, scriggle said:

I went to see Gifted today. I was shocked at how many people were in the theater. I counted 40 and this was at the first matinee. The last time I went to the movies was to see Captain America: Civil War (yeah, I don't go to the movies very often), there were maybe 15 people at the first matinee the second week after its opening.

Back to Gifted. I liked it. There were a couple of occasions where it brought tears to my eyes. McKenna was very good. Octavia was awesome. Jenny was okay though the whole romance was really unnecessary and thankfully very secondary to the main story. Chris gave a wonderful quiet performance. It's great to actually be able to see his entire face. And god, his eyes. He does so much with his eyes in this.

Was it perfect? No, but I can forgive it its flaws. Because Chris was soft and beautiful and luminous and his hair was mussy and floofy. (yes, I'm wallowing in the shallow end of the pool.)

I will join you In the shallow end of the pool. His eyes are beautiful and expressive and he has eyelashes for days. It's ridiculous. 

And he really is a very good actor. Much more than just a guy in a superhero suit.

[scriggle]

5 hours ago, wlk68 said:

I will join you In the shallow end of the pool. His eyes are beautiful and expressive and he has eyelashes for days. It's ridiculous. 

And he really is a very good actor. Much more than just a guy in a superhero suit.

Evans is really underrated as an actor imho. He was very good in both Puncture and Sunshine. Even in the Cap movies there are moments where he does some really incredibly subtle acting. I'm thinking of the elevator scene in Cap2 and the scene of him waking from the ice in Cap1. It's all done with his eyes and slight clench of his jaw.

[pancake bacon]

I liked having movies like Gifted available to see in the cinema. It's a wonderful moviegoing pleasure to see 'human' stories on the big screen. I'm glad Chris Evans opted to make a movie like Gifted, given what he has license to do based on his successful Marvel films. And he's a wonderful actor – he should drama more often, and he's always been a terrific comedy actor.

I didn't enjoy this movie a lot though. Giving the mother more dimension and space as a character would have made the conflict have more substance and stakes. For instance, I liked seeing how genuinely happy Diane looked in her photos with her mother; there was an aspect to Diane that enjoyed Math, and probably had an actual relationship with her mother. It seemed the script were giving more dimension to Evelyn and Mary's relationship when Mary was excited and looked forward to solving Millennium problems one day. I guess I personally would've have found the story more moving to have Frank and Evelyn see what see each other brought to the table to provide better for Mary.

(Making it cold, academic AND British [!] versus honest, hardworking bathed in sunlight was a bit much. I got it, movie!)

[scriggle]

[MisterBluxom]

This is the best film I've seen in years.

I was so looking forward to starting a new topic and being the first one to tell  you all about this film. Oh well, you can't always get to be first. Grin.

This film was so wonderful that if I was to tell you a synopsis, it would just detract from the movie. Nothing I can say about it will make you understand it better. IMHO, you simply must see this film. It will make your heart soar.

Especially if you have any kids or are planning to have some kids in the future. It is such an amazing and beautiful piece. Please accept my advice and do yourself a big favor.

[Browncoat]

I saw this tonight, finally, and really enjoyed it a lot.  The little girl was great, and I liked the compromise at the end -- she gets to study higher math and be a kid in girl scouts and what not.  I wanted to ask Evelyn how she could be so sure Diane didn't like sports if she didn't ever give her daughter a chance to like them.  And I know that Mary was only seven, but someone still should have asked her opinion -- where she wanted to be.  Seems like that always happens -- the so-called grown-ups talk round and round, but the kids' voices are never heard.

And three cheers for Frank for rescuing Fred!  

[scriggle]

GIFTED, Starring Chris Evans, Arriving on Digital HD July 11 and Blu-ray July 25

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Blu-ray and DVD Bonus Features Include:
Deleted Scenes
Do You Blame Yourself?
Unresolved Issues
Cookies
Rarer Than Radium
Take A Hint
Featurettes
Gifted: A First Look
Story
An Accomplished Cast
Inside the Equation
Marc’s Method
On Location: Gifted
Gallery

 

[Shannon L.]

18 hours ago, Browncoat said:

And three cheers for Frank for rescuing Fred!  

Not just Frank--there was a dog there during filming that Chris took an immediate liking to, so he adopted him. 

Edited June 7, 2017 by Shannon L.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

"That's exactly how it was when you were born."
"This happy?"
"This happy."
"Who came out and told everybody?"
"I did."
*pause* "Can we stay for another?"

*happy tears*

That's all I got.

[bijoux]

On 04. 09. 2017. at 1:58 AM, Cobalt Stargazer said:

"That's exactly how it was when you were born."
"This happy?"
"This happy."
"Who came out and told everybody?"
"I did."
*pause* "Can we stay for another?"

*happy tears*

That's all I got.

That was such a great scene and it showed Frank treating her as a kid, just a very smart one. I also loved Mary’s reaction to her biological father not coming to see her. It was great and horrible simultaneously.

 

On 18. 04. 2017. at 3:32 PM, Shannon L. said:

I do wish there had been even a short discussion about why he left teaching and why he was so averse to going back to it.  The story was well under 2 hours, so they could have had the time (unless they did mention it and I missed it or am forgetting it).   

My assumption was that he wasn’t just getting away from his mother, but grieving for his sister. That was a horrible thing to deal with, not just wondering if he could have helped, but finding her dead with her baby in the other room. I was expecting to see some movement on that front by the end of the film to show him moving past his own grief. Maybe the Descartes book was just that. He was actually very accomodating towards Mary’s gift, giving her extremely advanced reading material at a very young age, but prior to this there was no indication of him still indulging his own academic thirst.