A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending the press junket for the new movie Gifted, starring Chris Evans, McKenna Grace, Octavia Spencer, and Jenny Slate. After attending the junket, I anticipated creating a movie review for gifted for our community. There’s so much to share about this film.
Gifted is a heartwarming and heart-wrenching story about Frank Adler, an uncle raising his genius 7 year old niece, Mary Adler. Frank (Chris Evans) vows to give Mary (McKenna Grace) a normal life, even with her extraordinary mathematical abilities. Things go south when Frank enrolls Mary into school, and her teacher Bonnie (Jenny Slate), discovers Mary’s talent.
Octavia Spencer plays Roberta, Frank’s landlady and Mary’s best friend. She also plays a role of caretaker for Mary, which comes into play when she advises Frank not to enroll Mary into school. She’s seen as a family member to Mary, even if they don’t have an official or legal tie to each other.
This movie was thought-provoking on so many levels. Exploring the true meaning of family, how to encourage a child with gifted abilities, who should have a say in the way a child is raised, and when growing up needs to happen for children (and some adults).
With a PG-13 rating, but having a young starlet in McKenna Grace, it might be difficult to figure out if this would be a family film. The film does contain adult language and some suggestible scenes, so I would suggest that parents stick to the rating given. There are so many life lessons in the movie, so this would be a phenomenal movie to see with your teen and have a discussion after.
Gifted hits select theaters on April 7th, and releases everywhere on April 12th.
Great film to watch. I loved the chemistry between Chris Evans and Mckenna Grace. Something to watch out. The direction is great and the story very much moving