The Gift – Die dunkle Gabe (2000)

The Gift – Die dunkle Gabe: Directed by Sam Raimi. With Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi, Keanu Reeves, Katie Holmes. A fortune teller with extrasensory perception is asked to help find a young woman who has mysteriously disappeared.

“In The Gift, Cate Blanchett is blessed(or cursed?) with the ability to sense things that no ordinary person can see. She is asked by the police to aid in the search of a missing person and what follows, is a journey into the supernatural. Sam Raimi knows how to set up a scene for the maximum scare potential. Honed on his Evil Dead series, Raimi lets a scene begin slowly and allows the viewer to sense the dread and feel the suspense build. There are visual tricks, interesting camera techniques and the fine performances by a very talented cast that propel this story forward. Among this cast that really stands out is Keanu Reeves. People have always complained that Reeves brings down a movie. At least some of the people I know. I prefer to think that Reeves is an underrated actor. In the role of Donny Barksdale, Reeves brings a certain menace to his character that usually isnu0026#39;t scene in his other roles. Barksdale isnu0026#39;t a creature of the night, or a space alien, but a flesh and blood creature that is capable of true evil. When you watch him, look at his eyes and youu0026#39;ll see a true menace lurking behind those dark brown eyes. Cate Blanchett shows that she can master just about any accent thatu0026#39;s out there. She sounds like sheu0026#39;s a native of the south and she has a quiet courage about her. Most notable when sheu0026#39;s squaring off against Reeves. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAll in all, The Gift is a wonderfully atmospheric thriller. It has brains and doesnu0026#39;t insult the viewers. It will keep you hooked up until the very end, and there are quite a few surprises throughout the film. Highly entertaining, and very spooky at times.”