I love Chris Evans. I know, I know – a lot of people are on the Chris Pine train, but there has always been something strong and yet vulnerable about Chris Evans that I have loved. So going to see Gifted, well – that was a no brainer for me.
It involved some of my favorite things – Chris Evans, being there, and it seemed like a tear jerker. I was willing to overlook my hatred for math, because again – Chris Evans. And I am glad I did.
Gifted tells the story of a man who takes on raising his sisters daughter when she commits suicide. The little girl is a math prodigy, who doesn’t really socialize well, so he puts her in school. Long story short, the principal gets the Grandmother involved when he refuses to send her to a school for the gifted and a custody battle ensued.
Let me say, I have read the reviews. I know that not a lot of people liked this movie, but I did. Sure, it had a lot of problems and there were quite a few things that could have stood for more development, but let’s break it down.
CHRIS EVANS
He’s so pretty. God, I love him. And he was great in this movie. Though – I don’t think you can find me saying he was bad in anything. But Chris, as much as I love you, this movie wasn’t everything. I wanted to see more of you actually being a parent. I wanted to see how you decided to take on raising Mary. I wanted to see you actually get angry and sad. I wanted you to make me feel something.
I’ll always rave about you, because that’s what a fan does. They don’t give up on the actor that they adore. However, what a fan also does is be honest. You skirted through this role. McKenna Grace outshined you in every scene.
The only time that I actually felt something for you was when you went to get Mary.
And that was after I yelled in the movie theatre, “It’s about fucking time.”
Chris Evans is a great actor, but this part – well it wasn’t his greatest. He was still good, but I wanted great.
MCKENNA GRACE
Watch out, cause this kid is a star. McKenna played Mary, a math prodigy, who just didn’t know how to be a kid. She was searching for something, some sense of meaning and for the people that surrounded her to just love her. She was angry, she was bitter, but she was also vulnerable. I mean this character had gone through so much – her Mom committed suicide, her father didn’t want her, she was in the center of a custody war – and all she wanted was to be with her Uncle.
She didn’t know that she was supposed to have friends her own age. She didn’t know how to socialize. But none of that was her fault.
McKenna stole every scene she was in. She made you want to yell at her to stop being so disrespectful, to hug her when she cried, to sing and dance with her, to just make this kids like somewhat easier.
She broke your heart the way that she was supposed to. She made me want to go home and tell my nieces that I would never desert them – even though they know that. But you have to make sure.
She was perfection and no offense to Chris Pine – she stole every scene that they were in together.
THE PULL ON THE HEARTSTRINGS
The thing with this movie was that it had the potential to be something amazing. But even though it fell short, there were moments that pulled on your heartstrings. You couldn’t help but feel for Mary. You wanted to save her, to help this kid see that she didn’t do anything wrong.
One of the most heartbreaking scenes in the movie was when Mary found out her birth father was at the custody hearing and he wasn’t coming to see her. There was no part of my heart that did not break for this kid as the tears streamed down her face. But what her Uncle does after to show her that she was loved.
It’s everything.
AN UNDERUSED ROLE FOR OCTAVIA SPENCER
I can’t think of a movie I have seen where Octavia Spencer wasn’t everything. She’s always magic. She steals every scene that she’s in. She is a phenomenal actress who I think doesn’t take roles based on money, but wants to be a part of a good story. Gifted had the potential to be a great story, but fell short in a few places. One of those is Octavia Spencer’s role. Watching, all I could think was I wanted to see more of her, why she mattered so much to Mary, what made Roberta such a valuable part of this family dynamic. But all I felt like I was seeing was that she was a babysitter that crossed lines.
It saddened me. I wanted more.
I could see that Mary loved her. I could see that as far as Mary was concerned, Roberta was the second most important person in her life. But I just kept wondering why. The character of Roberta wasn’t fleshed out enough for me. And it was sad, because you had a genius actress playing her.
Now don’t get me wrong, Octavia Spencer was phenomenal in the scenes that she was in.
AN UNDERDEVELOPED STORYLINE
This movie had potential. I really believe that it could have been something great. It would have benefited from a few flashbacks so we could understand the mother, the family dynamic, and why Diane took her life. This all being said, Gifted wasn’t horrible. It’s a good movie with great actors. However, don’t waste your money at the box office. This one is definitely one to watch on your couch.
