This is a bit paint-by-numbers plotwise, but it is such a sweet movie that it's fairly easy to forgive the story's flaws and shortcomings. The entire ensemble is incredibly charming. Chris Evans and Jenny Slate are both lovely and give really strong performances. I actually thought their relationship was the highlight and it's easy to see why the relationship developed offscreen during filming, they have a really nice, natural chemistry. McKenna Grace is also adorable and plays very well off of Evans, and Lindsay Duncan was strong. Octavia Spencer is solid but underused. It's just a nice feel good movie that I'm sure audiences will respond to. B+

Gifted is a melodrama engineered to the smallest detail to tug, or even wrench, the audience's collective heartstrings. It is the type of film which inspires easy cynicism and pejorative comparisons to greeting cards and after-school specials. I must say, though: while I am not over the moon for it, it mostly hit the right notes for me. Chris Evans and 10-year-old Mckenna Grace deliver excellent, full performances, rapidly and even profoundly earning our sympathy and interest, and their dynamic powers the film through a few underdeveloped or questionable moments (an example of the latter being adorable, poor, one-eyed Fred the cat being five seconds from the euthanasia needle--come on, go easy on my poor heart, movie). The film also understands the arguably superficial, but very potent power of "genius" as a concept in cinema: from the zenith Good Will Hunting to recent films in genres as disparate as action (The Accountant) and biographical drama (Hidden Figures, The Theory of Everything), it is hard to resist scenes where an unexpected or underestimated prodigy astounds pompous academia by solving the unsolvable or writing vast, incomprehensible-to-ninety-nine-point-nine-percent-of-the-audience swirls of mathematical notation on a classroom board.

B

This movie also has an incredibly nasty antagonist in the Lindsey Duncan character. I am not even sure it knows how evil she is. I know it gestures toward her motivation (giving up her academic pursuits because of motherhood and feeling resentment ever since), but, come on, FRED THE CAT. And the whole crux of the ending, where she more or less sells her granddaughter in return for a taste of academic glory truly belonging to the daughter she drove to suicide, is very grim.

Gifted is a rather predictable family drama, but it avoids lapsing into overly saccharine manipulation, and is well intentioned/well made. Excellent performances across the board help: Chris Evans takes a break from saving the world in a solid performance, young actress McKenna Grace successfully treads the line between precocious and childlike. Lindsay Duncan is also excellent, as are Octavia Spencer and Jenny Slate although neither has all that much to do. B

Octavia Spencer asking why he didn't get a white lawyer was pretty what the fuck.

Enjoyable film overall though.

As others have mentioned this is a predictable movie throughout with decent performances throughout but it lacks any tension or big memorable moments to make itself appealing. Mckenna Grace does a wonderful job here and has great chemistry with Evans, who is good but isn't as magnetic with his presence here. Lindsay Duncan gets one small speech in her courtroom scene but other than that this strong-headed menacing character isn't explored enough here. Octavia Spencer does great in the small role here but Jenny Slate comes out the weakest of all and her existence in the movie is unjustified. Overall a decent watch because of the cast but this could have been much better movie with a tighter direction.

6/10

Yeah that got me as well. Most of Spencer's one-liners work here even when they are not funny.

I liked it. My mom loved it. The actors are good. It was entertaining. Not rea Much to say. I didn’t hate the grandmother that much. The child needed better schooling. She was right, the uncle was wrong.

B