The newest family drama starring Chris Evans suffers from an underwhelming script.
Ten minutes into Gifted and I began to wonder: Did someone just go into a box of old ’90s VHS tapings of Hallmark movies, dust one off and somehow manage to play it in this theater? Who was behind this elaborate trick?
Unfortunately, it was all too real.
Directed by Marc Webb, Gifted tells the story of single uncle Frank Adler (Chris Evans) trying to raise his niece Mary (McKenna Grace). Mary is a child math prodigy, which you can tell because she’s constantly asking questions, pouting and using words like “variable.” Mary starts her education at the local public school, where her teacher Bonnie (Jenny Slate) realizes Mary’s incredible mathematical ability (think Matilda with math instead of magic and a hotter father figure). Things begin to go awry when Frank’s mother Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan) arrives and questions Frank’s guardianship — he is a simple boat repairman with no insurance, after all. Frank must think critically about what is in Mary’s best interest as he endures a lengthy custody trial and grapples with his role as a father and the promises he made to his deceased sister.
Gifted‘s story does a disservice to its phenomenally talented cast. Academy award winner Octavia Spencer is relegated to the role of kindly neighbor and motherly figure. Her lines are few and far between, and her character floats through the plot, acting importantly in some moments but never in ways that feel to be on Spencer’s level.
Slate, who spends the majority of the film in oddly high-waisted teacher skirts, also doesn’t get the chance to act to her full ability. Slate’s character remains trapped inside the simplistic script, and though she’s as convincing as possible with what she’s given, the performance left me wanting more.
Evelyn is either both mean and British or mean because she’s British (it’s unclear). She teeters on the precipice of being a unique, captivating and multi-dimensional villain, but ends up lacking in believability.
Fresh off of his latest Captain America film, Evans is obviously looking to show his softer side as a simple southern single dad. His chemistry with Grace is one of the few successful aspects of the film. The twisted family dynamic between Frank, Mary and Evelyn also proves to be a strength. But even this basic element of the plot often falls victim to the underwhelming script and choppy narrative. Truly emotional moments are constantly ruined by more disenchanting scenes sandwiching them.
Gifted tries hard to create raw emotion and ends up as a disjointed melodrama. Though it features some of Hollywood’s brightest stars, Gifted barely glimmers.
