Most likely if this film was released near award season it may have gotten some buzz as the lighter side of "Manchester By The Sea"...or rather the one that had a pulse and heart.
Chris Evans plays Frank Adler, a Floridian who is saddled with raising his niece while working as a freelance boat repairman. The death of the sister left many questions, the least of which why would she abandon her infant daughter.
A great deal of sadness and lost futures, which most could be repaired through a little window of understanding instead, the fight to not repeat a tragedy seems to be the deeper meaning.
Enter Evelyn, a very distant mother to Evans and a complete stranger to now precocious Mary Adler. She is played to infectious adult-in-child's body McKenna Grace. Sad eyed and worldly, she understands her circumstances and rolls with the life she is given. This rings true only because I have a niece her age that seems to be more aware of tragedy than we realize
Frank never speaks to her as a child, because...she's a math prodigy. Beyond genius. And everyone knows it which draws out Evelyn and her unwavering goal to make some blood relative fulfill their potential.
"Gifted" does use the syrupy tropes of most of these humam dramas. But it's SO well done. Beautifully shot on film, especially during a late Florida afternoon. And the pacing is top notch. Evelyn isn't a monster. She banters gleefully with her own son who is otherwise cold. Their language is a spar sans the warmth of a real mother. Tough love taken to the extreme, but always a breath away from an apology.
Director Marc Webb made a nice human drama. A nice brownie rather than a cake. Which will be woefully missed once human dramas disappear into obscurity. Go see this movie and spend time with interesting fun people.
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