THE GIFT

Cate Blanchett

THE GIFT (2000). Director: Sam Raimi.

Annie Wilson (Cate Blachett) is a widow with three young sons who makes extra money doing readings for people. One of her clients is Valerie (Hilary Swank), whose husband, Donnie (Keanu Reeves), is a wife beater. Meanwhile her friend Wayne (Greg Kinnear) is dating a young woman named Jessica (Katie Holmes) who goes missing. Is Donnie responsible for her disappearance as everyone thinks, or does Annie's "gift" tell her that someone else is responsible? By the end of this mediocre film with its insufficient and sometimes obvious script I couldn't care less. This is one of those movies that purports to look into the lives of borderline Hillbilly types -- poor white trash, in other words -- but what we've really got are slick Hollywood types putting on phony Southern accents and hoping for the best. Lead Blanchett is one of the worst offenders, all actressy and unconvincing, and Hilary Swank [The Black Dahlia] isn't much better. Kinnear scores as Wayne, as do Reeves as the nasty Donnie and Gary Cole as the prosecutor on the case. I'm not certain what to make of Giovanni Ribisi [I Love Your Work] as a sad neighbor who may or may not have been molested by his father. There are moments in the movie that make no sense, and the ending is the shaggiest of shaggy dog stories. Co-written by Billy Bob Thorton, who must have dreamed this up over a sixpack. Blanchett deservedly won a Best Actress Oscar for Blue Jasmine six years later, but then she was working with Woody Allen and not Raimi of Evil Dead fame. [Raimi did knock one out of the ballpark with Spider-Man 2, however.]

Verdict: Hard to understand what anyone saw in this script. ** out of 4.

FATAL VISION

Gary Cole as Jeffrey MacDonald

FATAL VISION (1984 telefilm/mini-series). Director: David Greene. Screenplay by John Gay from Joe McGinniss' book.

"They'll never come to know the beauty and wonder of the world." -- Mildred speaking of her late grandchildren.

In 1970 the Green Beret doctor, Captain Jeffrey MacDonald, made a frantic call to police claiming that four people invaded his home and slaughtered his family -- his wife and two little girls -- and left him with minor injuries. At first his wife's parents, Freddy (Karl Malden) and Mildred (Eva Marie Saint), are supportive of Jeffrey and furious that the Army suspects him of the murders, but later they learn that his story of intruders just doesn't hold up and is indeed contradicted by forensics. Leads about the alleged intruders go nowhere. Freddy sees Jeffrey on television saying things that he knows are not true, such as how he required surgery due to his injuries that night. Eventually Freddy becomes his former son-in-law's greatest nemesis, refusing to let the matter drop and dogging prosecutors until they put MacDonald on trial. Cole is a little too boyish at times, but he gives a fine performance as MacDonald, matched by an excellent Malden and Saint. Also notable are Barry Newman as MacDonald's lawyer, Andy Griffith as a prosecutor, and Mitch Ryan as a forensic pathologist. Gripping throughout its three hour running time. There are still those who insist MacDonald is innocent.

Verdict: Memorable television on a horrific true case. ***1/2.