The star of this film is seven-year-old Mary, perfectly cast by Mckenna Grace, who was nine. She’s sweet and feisty at the same time, her timing is impeccable, her range of emotions is excellent. Her subtly expressive face made us smile, even laugh aloud once or twice.
Mary is an extremely gifted child who has been brought up and educated by Frank (Chris Evans - also perfect for the part). But as the film starts, she’s about to start first grade at a local elementary school. Frank wants Mary to make friends, and to think of herself as normal. She is very reluctant, and on her first day distinguishes herself by her astonishing mathematical ability.
Thankfully Mary’s teacher Bonnie (Jenny Slate) recognises that she has a very gifted child in her class rather than seeing her student as being rude or obnoxious. But Frank is unwilling to have Mary enrolled in a school for gifted children. We learn that Mary’s mother was also supremely intelligent but something of a social outcast, and very unhappy, and Frank doesn’t want that.
Into the mixture comes Evelyn, Mary’s grandmother, who wants Mary to be pushed, to ‘reach her potential’. Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan) is elegant, narcissistic and unprincipled, and will stop at nothing to get what she wants. She is beautifully contrasted with Roberta (Octavia Spencer) who is Frank’s landlady, and also Mary’s best friend. Roberta wants what is best for Mary, and loves spending time with her.
So there are legal battles and emotional scenes. Through the film there is the continual question of whether it’s better for this delightful child to pursue her evident talents, to the exclusion of everything else, or attempt some semblance of normality. That’s exacerbated by the fact that she finds it hard to get along with other children, preferring adult company, and loving complex maths concepts and problems.
The acting is so good and the script so believable that we were very quickly drawn into this film, wondering at times if it was based on a true story (apparently not). We were rooting for Frank, appalled and yet impressed at Evelyn. Although she is evidently self-centred, and cares little for Mary as a person, she can - at face value - offer her a much better life.
There are boats, and a one-eyed cat; there’s some humour, and some delightful scenes with Roberta. There’s a love interest for Frank, but it’s quite low-key and never really resolved. There are also some highly-charged scenes between Frank and Evelyn, and between Mary and Frank, moving us almost to tears at times.
The rating is 12, which seems about right despite the main character being a seven-year-old girl. There are a few instances of ‘strong’ language, and an implied bedroom scene, although nothing explicit. But the emotional impact of the story could be stressful for a younger child, as could the theme of a custody battle of this kind.
There are some extras - short scenes with the cast, which give interesting insights into the making of this film, and also some deleted scenes. We could see why most were deleted, but they were all well done and added a little to the story.
Overall, we both thought ‘Gifted’ an absolutely wonderful film, and would recommend it highly to any adults or teenagers who like this kind of light-hearted yet deep heartwarming drama.
Review copyright 2020 Sue's DVD Reviews
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