"Some people work harder than others. Some have it, some don't. Then there are the very few ones who are just born with it. They are the gifted."
— Trailer opening narration
The Gifted is a dark comedy Filipino film. Produced by Viva Films and directed by Chris Martinez, it details the rivalry between two abnormally smart girls from different walks of life - Zoe Tuazon, who comes from an extremely affluent family, and Aica Tabayoyong, who comes from a lower-class family.
No relation to the TV show of the same name.
The following tropes include:
- All the Other Reindeer: Both Aica and Zoe are ostracized by their classmates.
- This also applies to The Gifted book author, Marco in his childhood. According to Maica and Joey, he was ostracized not for his smarts but by his bad behavior and all the embarrassing things their fictional counterparts experienced was Marco's. Also Maica and Joey has fire forged friendship in real life..
- Based on a True Story: The film is largely a narration of a book of the same name, a very loose one that is.
- Black Comedy
- Country Mouse: Mark was this when he got admitted to Aica's and Zoe's school. He has a noticeable accent stereotypical of someone who came from the province. Post-timeskip, he loses the accent after he got employed in a call center.
- Framing Device: Most of the movie's events actually exist within a novel in the real world.
- Fanservice: Sam Milby, Anne Curtis and Cristine Reyes do not disappoint.
- Happily Married: Mark and Aica seem to be this.
- Intelligence Equals Isolation: The premise of the film suggests this is Aica and Zoe's situation being the top two students their batch. They have nobody aside from each other. Aica's looks and Zoe's weight doesn't help but certain defining moments in their childhood led to their isolation from the rest of their class.
- Insufferable Genius: Zoe was a valedictorian of her previous school and mocks her peers for being below her intellectually. However she is that smart, being a consistent candidate for clinching the valedictorian honor in her batch in high school. A high school for gifted people that is. And she managed to admitted to an Ivy League school in the US and became a reputable neurosurgeon.
- Light Feminine Dark Feminine: Though downplayed. Aica is noted for her light skin in the post-timeskip.
- Rich Bitch: Zoe
- Shirtless Scene: Sam Milby has one towards the end.
- Significant Double Casting: Sam Milby plays both Marco, the book author and Mark a hunk who became a classmate of Aica and Zoe in Marco's book. This suggest that Mark is an Author Avatar of Marco. This is confirmed in the epilogue, though the book isn't a faithful adaptation of a true story as purported.
