Another fact about yours truly is that I was ambidextrous as a child. It was so strange to me that I actually flipped out my teacher, Mrs. Huffmaster, when I would color with my left hand, then with my right hand, and then both hands. Because of this, I was given a series of tests to check my abilities in other areas. Obviously I was not they genius they thought I might be, but it is always awe-inspiring to see children who can master things like chess, math, or even music at a young age.
Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man, Limitless) addresses this in his new film “Gifted,” starring Chris Evans (The Avengers, Snowpiercer), McKenna Grace (Designated Survivor, Independence Day: Resurgence), Octavia Spencer (The Help, Hidden Figures), Jenny Slate (Zootopia, Joshy), Lindsay Duncan (Spy, Birdman), John Finn (Glory, Catch Me if you Can), Glenn Plummer (Speed, Saw II), and Julie Ann Emery (Hitch, The Following). Its story is told through Frank (Evans), who is raising his niece, Mary (Grace), after her mother passes away. Frank reluctantly starts to send Mary to public school after homeschooling so she can try to live some semblance of a normal life. While in school, the secret of Mary being a math prodigy is found out, and when Evelyn (Duncan), Mary's grandmother, finds out and wants to place Mary in a special school for gifted people against Frank’s wishes.
The look is good of the film works well, with a couple of scenes where there are some incredible nature shots that wowed me. Spencer, Finn, and Duncan do well, which I expected, but Evans the emotional role very well, breaking away from his action mold. My shout out has to go to Grace, who really strikes the balance of a genius and a normal child. She also adds a few scenes where she has some spunk which compliments a performance that is very noteworthy.
The plot here is so incredible, it is almost perfect, with lots of emotion. which truly touched my heart. The film has a good mix of emotion and comedy added at the right moments as well as some twists that are not predictable. If this film does not affect you, you may not have a soul or you are a Communist. “Gifted” is so good that it may even end up on a certain list that comes at the end of the year, so I will definitely recommend this film with the coveted recommendation of full price in the theaters.