Gifted

Dir: Marc Webb

2017

***

Marc Webb’s 2017 drama Gifted is so sickly-sweet it’ll make your jaw hurt but it’s about as likable as it gets. I understand why Webb would want to take a complete change of pace following his Amazing Spider-Man films that received a less than warm reception (even though they really weren’t that bad). However, Gifted is a million miles away from how lovely his 2009 feature debut 500 Days of Summer was. In a small town near Tampa, Florida, seven-year-old Mary Adler (played by Mckenna Grace) lives with uncle and de facto guardian, Frank (Chris Evans). Her best friend is her 40 something neighbor, Roberta (Octavia Spencer). Mary has been home-schooled until this point and Frank decides what she really needs is to learn how to interact with children her age, so sends her to school against her will. On her first day of first grade, she shows remarkable mathematical talent, which impresses her teacher, Bonnie Stevenson (played by Jenny Slate). There, despite her initial disdain for average children her own age and her boredom with their classwork, she begins to bond with them when she brings her one-eyed cat, Fred, for show-and-tell and later defends a classmate from a bully on the bus. Mary is offered a scholarship to a private school for gifted children but Frank turns it down based on his family's experiences with similar schools. He fears Mary will not have a chance at a "normal" childhood. It emerges that Mary's mother, Diane, had been a promising mathematician, dedicated to the Navier–Stokes problem (one of the unsolved Millennium Prize Problems) before taking her own life when Mary was six months old. Mary has lived with Frank, a former college professor turned boat repairman, ever since. Frank's estranged mother and Mary's maternal grandmother, Evelyn (played by Lindsay Duncan), seeks to gain custody of Mary and move her to Massachusetts, believing that Mary is a "one-in-a-billion" mathematical prodigy who should be specially tutored in preparation for a life devoted to mathematics, much as Diane was. However, Frank is adamant that his sister would want Mary to be in a normal public school and have the childhood she didn't have. Worried that the judge will rule against him and he will lose Mary completely, Frank accepts a compromise brokered by his lawyer Greg Cullen that sees Mary placed in foster care and attend the private school where Evelyn wants to have her enrolled. The foster parents live just 25 minutes from Frank's home, Frank will be entitled to scheduled visits, and Mary will be able to decide where she wants to live after her 12th birthday. Mary is devastated at being placed in foster care, and her foster father says she refuses to see Frank. However, when Bonnie sees a picture of Fred up for adoption by chance, she alerts Frank. Frank retrieves the cat from the pound and, learning that Fred was brought in due to allergy issues, realizes that Evelyn - who is allergic to cats is overseeing Mary's education in the guest house of Mary's foster home. He then reveals to Evelyn - who had been a mathematician herself - that Diane had solved the Navier–Stokes problem, but stipulated that the solution was to be withheld until Evelyn's death. Knowing that it meant everything to Evelyn to see Diane solve the problem, Frank offers Evelyn the opportunity to publish Diane's work if she drops her objection to his having custody of Mary. Evelyn reluctantly agrees. The film ends with Mary back in the custody of Frank, living with him, Fred and a load of other cats Frank ended up adopting, returning to public school while taking college-level courses in the mornings. I will always defend the word nice as a description (just like I will always argue that there is absolutely nothing wrong with vanilla) and I can not think of a better word for Webb’s film. Sometimes films don’t have to be amazing or groundbreaking – nice is often exactly what a film should aspire to be. There is absolutely nothing wrong with nice. I take some objection to the fact the film’s villain is British once more and I don’t believe the fostering process in America is as easy as all that either but to look into Gifted in too much detail is to overlook the overall message – which is nice. I also loved Fred the one-eyed cat and look forward to seeing what he does next.

(500) Days of Summer
Dir: Marc Webb
2009
****
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is on fine form here in this sweet romantic film. More 'indie cool' than rom-com, it breaks away from the usual formulaic Hollywood bile and 'moves about' a bit. The narrative works well with the story, which is written, told and directed very well. My only gripe with it, and this is more a matter of personal taste, is that Zooey Deschanel is pretty far from my idea of an 'object of desire'. My only desire is to banish her from film and TV, and that is me being refrained and nice. I can't stand her. The rest of it is tip top!

The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Dir: Marc Webb
2014
***
I like Spider-Man because of his wit, his cheeky one-liners and his youthfulness. I like his comics because he has easily got some of the best villains of the Superpowers genre. So why can't they seem to get them right? I liked the change of costume for Electro, The Green Goblin and The Rhino and I think they way they made them believable was very clever (In comic adaptation terms anyway). The action and CGI is over the top, Spider-Man isn't alone in this, it seems to be the current trend but I'm not sure how long it can last especially when it seems to take president over script...and what a terrible script it is. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is twice as big and makes twice the amount of mistakes as the first film but Marc Webb seems to be unapologetic and I admire that to a degree. After the first film I wonder if he just thought to hell with it, can't please everyone so I may as well indulge myself and indulge himself he did. Credit due for that family unfriendly ending too although The Dark Knight it ain't, so lets leave it there please. It's a mess, a likable mess but a mess all the same.

The Amazing Spider-Man
Dir: Marc Webb
2012
**
I thought Marc Webb's version of Spider-man brought a lot to the story that was lacking in Raimi's version but I also think Raimi's version better represented the character of Peter Parker. They are pretty much equal because they are pretty much the same film. Thus, Raimi's version is better because it was the original, Webb's version is already a bit tired and feels like a bit of a cash in but neither have got it spot on in my opinion. It also slumps in the middle massively and the beginning of the film takes ages to get going with the transformation (an important factor in origin stories) sequence happening (and ending) within seconds. Overall I was disappointed, Killer Croc was a bit of a disappointment too, everyone has their favourite Spiderman baddie (mine is Mysterio) but I thought he looked a bit rubbish. He also didn't wear his lab coat long enough for my liking. Andrew Garfield has yet to convince me either, he's trying a little too hard at being something he doesn't look that comfortable being.