Jason Bateman in The Gift

The Gift is an extremely effective thriller about a married couple Simon (Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) who are frequently visited by Gordo (Joel Edgerton), someone from Simon's past.


Jason Bateman is best known for comedy, in particular his absolutely hilarious work on Arrested Development. That is not the case here, though, as The Gift is not a comedy by any stretch of the imagination. The early set up of this character is fairly simple. Simon and his wife are moving into a new home, and everything seems fairly normal. Until he has a run-in with Gordo, who he knew in high school. Bateman is terrific in this scene, as at first he tries to carry on a conversation with a man he has no recollection of. When Simon remembers Gordo, it's a great moment as Bateman portrays it almost a reluctance to keep talking to him.

After this scene, it's clear that there's some kind of history between them, but it's not yet clear what. It becomes slightly clearer when Gordo has dinner with Simon and Robyn. Bateman is fascinating in this scene, in that he shows Simon trying to be just a good host, but is increasingly irritated by Gordo's stories about Simon. When Simon turns the tables and asks Gordo about his life, Bateman portrays a very strong harshness as if he doesn't want to dwell on his own past.  This is the first indication that something not so great happened between the two.

One of the first full indications of who Simon really is is when he and Robyn are invited to Gordo's house for dinner. After Gordo leaves abruptly, he leaves Simon and Robyn there alone. This is a fantastic scene for Bateman as Simon starts to mock Gordo about wanting to sleep with Robyn. Bateman is terrific in this scene as he shows a complete venom coming from Simon, and his mocking of Gordo becomes quite frankly childish.

After this scene, Simon cuts off ties with Gordo, and this is where the crux of Bateman's performance lies. Bateman portrays Simon as a very close-minded jerk of a person, who wants nothing at all to do with Gordo, despite his wife being very convinced that Gordo is harmless. Bateman flawlessly portrays the stubbornness in Simon as he acts as if he has achieved the moral high ground, although he did this through questionable means.

A great scene for Bateman comes when Robyn passes out due to taking pills. Bateman is extremely effective in the scene where Simon confronts Robyn at first seeming genuinely concerned for her well-being but perhaps being a bit too forceful about it, to the point where he won't even let Robyn speak.

I have to mention quickly that there's gonna be *SPOILERS* from here on out, because I have to talk about certain plot elements that are essential to Bateman's performance. The truth is revealed that Simon bullied Gordo in high school, starting a rumour that essentially ruined Gordo's life. The scene where Robyn confronts Simon about his behaviour, Bateman is absolutely brilliant in revealing just how much of a bully he really was, and still is, as Simon angrily spouts on about how nothing is his fault, and how Gordo needs to move on with his life. Bateman is actually quite hard to watch here, as he so realistically portrays this kind of bully.

Another exceptional scene comes when he goes to apologize to Gordo. Bateman at first offers a semi-genuine apology, although there is the hint that Simon's just doing this for himself more than anything. When Gordo refuses to accept Simon's apology, Bateman is brilliant as he suddenly turns into a schoolyard bully once again and starts attacking Gordo for simply not accepting his apology. Once again, it's very difficult to watch Bateman here, as he is almost too real.

This all leads to the climax of the film, where Gordo sends Simon one final gift, a video tape suggesting he may have done something horrible to get back at Simon. Bateman is quite frankly astonishing in this scene, as he shows how completely destroyed Simon is by the footage on the tape. What's especially amazing here is that Bateman manages to be heartbreaking despite the fact that we've seen just how terrible of a person Simon is.

Jason Bateman gives an absolutely amazing performance here, by being so painfully realistic in his portrayal of a bully, but also managing to be very moving in showing how this man's life has been destroyed by his actions.

Rating: 5/5