Gifted (2017)

Starring: Chris Evans, McKenna Grace, Lindsay Duncan
Director: Marc Webb
Release Date: April 12, 2017
Rating: PG-13
Run Time: 1:41
Movie Type: Drama

Frank Adler (Chris Evans) is a single man raising a child prodigy – his spirited young niece Mary (Mckenna Grace) in a coastal town in Florida. Frank’s plans for a normal school life for Mary are foiled when the seven-year-old’s mathematical abilities come to the attention of Frank’s formidable mother Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan) whose plans for her granddaughter threaten to separate Frank and Mary. Octavia Spencer plays Roberta, Frank and Mary’s landlady and best friend. Jenny Slate is Mary’s teacher, Bonnie, a young woman whose concern for her student develops into a connection with her uncle as well.

I have lost count of how many times I’ve watched this movie since it came out but with each viewing, I love the movie just a little bit more.

Frank’s sister died and left her genius daughter for Frank to raise in a normal upbringing. So Frank moves to Florida with little Mary, in an effort to give her as normal a life as he can. Mary’s mother was just as gifted and intelligent as Mary is but her life was filled with math question after math question and she didn’t want that for Mary. That was why she turned to Frank. Everything was going great until Mary became old enough to attend to public school.

You can’t hide a brain that big and Mary, well, Mary is a memorable character. She’s bright and she’s funny and she’s so full of love and wisdom for someone so small that she literally made this movie. That’s saying something because Captain freaking America plays her Uncle.

So, Mary becomes involved in a custody battle between her Uncle and her Grandmother. The grandmother that her mother didn’t want to raise her. They’re both fighting for what they think is right, at least that’s how it seems but Frank, mostly, Frank is fighting for Mary. He’s fighting for Mary to have the life that her mother didn’t have. He’s fighting for the Mary to have what her mother wanted her to have and that whole thing broke my heart because through it all, Mary is left pretty much on her own.

Frank wasn’t the perfect guardian for Mary. No, he was selfish and he was dumb but at his core, he was a good guy. He didn’t love Mary because she was smart or because she was cute. He just loved Mary and I adored him.

This movie kept my attention from beginning to end. I came to care for all of the characters in this movie (well, most of them anyway) and Mary and Frank wormed their way into my heart. I laughed and I cried and I was completely charmed with this movie so yes, I highly recommend this to everyone.

My favorite quote:

“He’s a good person. He wanted me before I was smart.”

Movie Trailer

My Rating

5 out of 5