The Gift (2015)

Thriller, Mystery

Director: Joel Edgerton
Writer: Joel Edgerton
Starring: Rebecca Hall, Jason Bateman, Joel Edgerton, Allison Tolman

"Are bygones ever really bygones?"

An uneasy psychological thriller written, directed and starring actor Joel Edgerton.

Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) are a young married couple who just moved to Los Angeles from Chicago. One day they run into Gordo (Edgerton), an old high school classmate of Simon's who quickly insinuates himself into their beautiful and happy lives. Things start to get strange when Gordo starts leaving various gifts by their front door, or drops in unannounced midday, while Simon is at work. The couple try their best to handle the bizarre events as they begin to get weirder and weirder, but as they unfold and the truth comes out, the strange occurrences take on a whole new meaning.  

As his directorial debut, Joel Edgerton manages to craft a cool, unnerving and entertaining thriller, that manages to get inside the viewers' heads, and probably even make them jump out of their seats at times, before evolving into something more emotionally rich.

Plot summary from IMDb: Simon and Robyn are a young married couple whose life is going just as planned until a chance encounter with an acquaintance from Simon's high school sends their world into a harrowing tailspin. Simon doesn't recognize Gordo at first, but after a series of uninvited encounters and mysterious gifts prove troubling, a horrifying secret from the past is uncovered after more than 20 years. As Robyn learns the unsettling truth about what happened between Simon and Gordo, she starts to question: how well do we really know the people closest to us, and are past bygones ever really bygones?

Awards: 1 win & 10 nominations.
Runtime: 108 min
R