In 2015, Australian actor/director Joel Edgerton delivered a slick slice of suspense with The Gift — a tale of a couple having their lives negatively impacted by the return of the husband’s old classmate.
Jason Bateman (Ozark) and Rebecca Hall (The Night House) play married couple Simon and Robyn. They move back to Simon’s hometown in California for a fresh start in their relationship. Not long after moving, Simon bumps into an old friend named Gordo, played by Joel Edgerton (It Comes At Night), and the pair rekindle their friendship.
Unfortunately, Gordo appears to be holding onto a grudge about something from their past and events begin to take a dark and sinister turn that will ruin the lives of Simon, Robyn, and everyone they know.
The Gift That Keeps on Giving
The film showcased Jason Bateman’s dramatic chops before Ozark made them more apparent, and the increasingly unsteady relationship between Simon, Robin, and Gordo crackles thanks to director Joel Edgerton’s chilling turn as the disgruntled former classmate and Bateman’s chameleonic family man.
Edgerton didn’t just direct and star in The Gift. He also wrote and produced this early Blumhouse hit. It proved to be a decent critical success for the first-time director, earning a 77 score on Metacritic. The shocking revelations of its ending were seen as controversial in their implications, but the agonizingly uncomfortable journey to that point largely pays off thanks to the main cast’s performances.
Edgerton would return to directing three years later with Boy Erased, which starred Lucas Hedges (The Zero Theorem), Russell Crowe (The Pope’s Exorcist), and Nicole Kidman (The Others). It saw an outed gay teen forced to attend a conversion camp or be exiled by his family.
The Gift may not be what you’d consider a classic, but it remains one of the strongest thrillers to be released in recent years. Edgerton’s abrasive approach to the story ensures it stands out.