Gift, The MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +2 1/2 Content: -3

Set in a small Louisiana town, this supernatural thriller features Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchett), a local psychic, whose gift is quite popular in the area. Recently widowed, Annie is attracted to school counselor Wayne Collins (Greg Kinnear), but quickly finds out about his impending wedding to Jessica King (Katie Holmes). However, when King turns up missing, Annie is brought in to see if her gift can help the investigation. Although a body is found and a man put on trial for the crime, do they have the guilty party? Slowly but surely, the mystery unfolds as Annie puts together the pieces glimpsed through her gift. A well-acted, intense thriller with plenty of creaky floors and things lurking behind half-open doors, THE GIFT may be a bit too dark to attract large presents at the box office.

Annie has a gift to see things that others cannot, primarily in visions that occur while shes awake as well as asleep. The visions mix things in her environment with things outside the physical realm. For example, she sees a dead woman floating in a tree in her front yard. She apparently also has contact with spirits of dead people, who help her in some way. But Annie is also a religious person who frequently attends church, which could seem to legitimize a practice spoken against in the Bible. Breast nudity occurs a few times, mostly with a dead womans body and one sexually suggestive scene. Numerous obscenities and strong uses of Gods name in vain further spoil the film. However, graphic violence, with instances ranging from profuse bleeding to a man set on fire, creates the most aversion. This violence, foul language, nudity, and a positive portrayal of communing with the dead means leaving THE GIFT unopened.

Preview Reviewer: John Adair
Distributor: Paramount Pictures, 5555 Melrose Ave., LA, CA 90038