Movie Review: Gifted

Oh how I have missed screening movies!  I've been out of the loop these last 4 weeks but now I'm back. I screened the new Chris Evans' movie Gifted.  First impression from trailers was that it looks nice but I won't spend the money to see it.  So what did I think after screening it? Gifted opens April 7th and is a sweet movie.  The story very easily would have translated onto the small

screen as a Hallmark Hall of Fame Movie, though we would not have seen Chris Evans, Jenny Slate and Octavia Spencer in that rendition.   The performances were stellar, especially young McKenna Grace as Mary Adler.  In fact her portrayal had me thinking we were looking at this generation's Drew Barrymore.  Chris Evans plays Frank, Mary's uncle.  Frank is raising Mary after the death of her mother, his sister, in Florida.  Unconventional is his approach to parenting which has worked as Mary isn't your conventional 6 year old, she's a Math prodigy.  He believes his sister wanted a normal childhood for Mary rather than being raised like she was in think tanks and classrooms.  Grandma, Lindsay Duncan, wants a different life for Mary.  She wants Mary to be able to reach her full potential and believes that can only happen under her care.  A dragged out custody battle resolves with Mary in foster care.  Slate, as Bonnie Mary's teacher, and Spencer, as Roberta Frank's landlord and Mary's best-friend,  are the strong women that support Frank in his desire to raise Mary in a world outside of classrooms.   The film is fairly predictable and easy flowing until the last third.  There were two scenes that felt a bit over the top.  One was the visit to a hospital's maternity ward. The other was the entire foster family sequence.  Though (without giving away spoilers) I wasn't surprised at the result it was a "only in Hollywood" moment.  
My original impression was correct ~ wait to see it at Home. Grade 3/5 Crowns
No Trailers as this was a Screening.


Next up: Boss Baby,  Zookeeper's Wife and Ghost in a Shell