History Film / Gifted

* AdoptionConflict: The main conflict of the film is Mary's father and grandmother fighting over custody of her.

''Gifted'' is a 2017 American drama-comedy directed by Marc Webb (director of Film/FiveHundredDaysOfSummer and Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries), starring Creator/ChrisEvans, Creator/MckennaGrace, Lindsay Duncan, Creator/JennySlate, and Creator/OctaviaSpencer.

Not to be confused with Webcomic/{{Gifted}}, Film/TheGifted, or Series/TheGifted2017.

* BadLiar: Mary's biological father is brought into the custody battle when Evelyn tries to present him as an alternative guardian. He claims that he could never find Mary, but Frank's lawyer provides a laptop and runs a quick search for Mary's name to demonstrate that it would have been easy for the man to find his daughter if he'd actually been interested in doing so.

* DramaticSitDown: Evelyn after the WhamLine.

* GlorifiedSpermDonor: Mary's biological father never even tries to actually find her and clumsily [[BadLiar attempts to lie]] by claiming that he'd been looking for her all over the country.

* HiddenDepths: Frank can pass for a person with a blue-collar job more or less successfully, but halfway during cross-examination it is revealed that [[spoiler: he used to be an associate-professor in philosophy in Boston University seven years ago. Given that he is in his mid-thirties, that is an impressive achievement.]]

** Frank when he finds out that [[spoiler:Mary's foster family sent her cat away to be euthanized; he rescues Fred, goes back for her, and apologizes to her for going with the plea deal.]]

* {{Nephewism}}: Frank has raised Mary since she was a baby following the suicide of his sister, Diane.

* StrongFamilyResemblance: As seen from Dianne's photograph, she looks just like her daughter.

* HollywoodDateless: Averted. While Frank has remained single all these years, it's implied that he's made a deliberate decision to focus on Mary, rather than on getting into serious relationships. At the same time, there's apparently a standing arrangement that Mary stays with Roberta on Friday nights and Saturday mornings, so Frank can have some time to do... other things.

* HollywoodDateless: It's not explained why Frank has remained a single father for so long. That said, we do find out that he has a rule that Mary has to stay over at Roberta's on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings, which suggests that he may not be quite the CelibateHero.

* BothSidesHaveAPoint: As to whether or not Mary should be pursuing higher education. Frank is utterly terrified that Mary will be in the same situation her mother Diane was in: forced to work all the time without ever learning what it's like to do things kids her own age are doing, having a life ''outside'' the stress of academics and having fun and a social life. (Keep in mind, this was the exact life Diana was forced to have before ''killing herself'' due to not knowing anything else and losing all sense of purpose in life once completing her life's work.) Evelyn, in the meantime, believes that Mary deserves more than a public school education, especially since Mary wants to solve harder problems and is having trouble at school with the work being too easy; wanting to see her reach her true potential. [[spoiler:It's revealed that Evelyn hadn't learned from her mistakes with Diane and hurts Mary by having her beloved cat taken away; due to personally disliking animals and feeling the cat was a distraction for Mary.]]

* AntiVillain: Painting Evelyn as a villain comes with the genre for a film like this, but she remains vaguely likeable throughout because of her sharp wit, the fact that she does love Mary in her own way, and the nagging suspicion that she is right about Mary needing a totally different kind of academic environment from the one Frank is providing her. However considering her [[StageMom relentless drive for her daughter]] lead to her having an emotional break down after she completed her life's work. Which then lead to her [[spoiler: suicide.]] Then Frank's mission to prevent her from deciding Mary's academic future becomes more sympathetic. [[spoiler:Given Evelyn's MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment.]]
* BothSidesHaveAPoint: As to whether or not Mary should be pursuing a higher education. Frank is utterly terrified that Mary will be in the same situation her mother Diane was in: forced to work all the time, not allowed to play outside or go on dates, or able to be a kid. Evelyn in the meantime believes that Mary deserves more than a public school education, especially since Mary wants to solve harder problems and is having trouble at school with the work being too easy. [[spoiler:It's revealed that Evelyn hadn't learned from her mistakes with Diane and hurt Mary by getting her cat Fred taken away.]]

* KickTheDog: On Evelyn's part. Frank finally goes back for Mary when he finds out that [[spoiler:her foster family sent Fred to a kill shelter, where he was about to be euthanized. Then he gets angry on realizing that Evelyn violated the spirit of the custody agreement, rescues two other cats, and drives to confront her foster family and Evelyn.]]
* MamaBear: Roberta stands in Evelyn's way when [[spoiler:Frank chases after a grieving Mary, giving an icy DeathGlare.]]

* MommyIssues: Clearly a problem for Frank. He believes that he is justified in keeping Mary away from the academic environment that will intellectually stimulate her and [[spoiler: rejecting his own academic background despite his inherent intelligence]]. This is more of a reaction against everything that Evelyn stands for than an objective assessment of what's in his and Mary's best interests. However he does have a point that Evelyn drive is costing Mary's happiness and a normal childhood she desires. Also while he originally rebelled against Mary pursuit of Academia due to his mother ruining Diane's life and happiness, he is correct her ambition clouds her judgement regarding whats best for Mary.

* MyBelovedSmother: Evelyn controlled every aspect of Diane's life and forbade her from pursuing any activity apart from mathematics, including skiing, watching baseball and having boyfriends. Frank is terrified that she'll do the same to Mary if she has her way.

** Evelyn breaks down into tears when she reads that [[spoiler:her daughter had solved the Navier-Stokes problem, and didn't want it to be published until after Evelyn's death. Diane hated Evelyn so much that she wouldn't give her mother that satisfaction]].

* PartingWordsRegret: Frank forever laments that he didn't want to talk to his sister one night that she showed up with her baby because he had a date. When he came back, she was dead on the bathroom floor. [[spoiler:She had wanted her brother's advice after she had solved the Navier-Stokes problem, thus accomplishing what her mother wanted her to do.]]

** Evelyn's lawyer proposes that, instead of Mary living with either of them, she live with a foster family that's close enough for Frank to visit regularly, Evelyn will receive visitation rights, and Mary will attend the gifted school. Frank's lawyer convinces him to take it, on the grounds that it's the only way to guarantee that Mary doesn't get sent to Boston. [[spoiler: Subverted, when Evelyn then manipulates the foster family to give her effective control, and push Frank out.]]
** Frank comes up with another one, when [[spoiler:instead of letting the court decide, Frank reveals that Diane ''had'' solved the Navier-Stokes problem, and uses her proof to bribe her into letting Mary stay with him. Ultimately, Mary does take advanced math classes, but still lives with Frank and participates in extracurricular activities with kids her age]].
* TeacherParentRomance: Resulting in an embarrassing moment for Bonnie when Mary sees her after her one-night-stand with Frank.

* VicariouslyAmbitious: Evelyn gave up her dreams of becoming a world-famous mathematician after marrying and having kids, so her ambition became to ensure her daughter succeeded in becoming what she couldn't, and failing that, her daughter's daughter.

-->'''Frank''': '''It wasn't her death she was talking about.'''

* HateSink: Evelyn, is she ''ever''. She single-handedly ruined the life of her daughter to the point where she's DrivenToSuicide, tried to steal Mary from Frank, [[spoiler: reneged the custody agreement by sending Fred to an animal shelter against Mary's wishes]], and clearly sees her ''own'' granddaughter as a tool instead of a person. She's pretty much an easy target for the audience to root against.

* AntiVillain: Painting Evelyn as a villain comes with the genre for a film like this, but she remains vaguely likeable throughout because of her sharp wit, the fact that she does love Mary in her own way, and the nagging suspicion that she is right about Mary needing a totally different kind of academic environment from the one Frank is providing her. However considering her [[StageMom relentless drive for her daughter]] lead to her having an emotional break down after she completed her life's work. Which then lead to her [[spoiler: suicide.]] Then Frank's mission to prevent her from deciding Mary's Academia future becomes more sympathetic. [[spoiler:Given Evelyn's MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment.]]

* HeroicBSOD: It's not obvious, but Frank was probably going through one for the entire movie as a result of his guilt over his sister's death and desire to rebel against everything that his mother stood for. Symptoms: renouncing his [[spoiler: academic roots, giving up his presumably well-paid job as an associate-professor in philosophy at Boston University]], making his living as a freelance boat repairer, obstinately refusing to put Mary in the kind of academic environment in which she would intellectually thrive. However later on with the revelation that his sister [[spoiler: committed suicide after completing her life’s work.]] Likely due to the [[StageMom high pressure upbringing that Evelyn plans for Mary.]] Then his reasoning becomes less about rebellion and more about his fear of history repeating.

* WhamShot: When Frank reveals to Evelyn that [[spoiler: Diane had solved the Navier–Stokes problem]] by showing her a script with the respective title.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Not explicitly stated, but implied; when Mary's biological father is brought into the custody case by Evelyn, Frank's lawyer neatly proves how poor he would be as a guardian for Mary by providing a laptop to demonstrate how easy it would have been for him to find his daughter if he actually ''wanted'' to find her, clearly demonstrating his disinterest.

* DebateAndSwitch: Averted. The movie thoroughly examines the differences between Frank and Evelyn's approaches to parenting and to Mary's education. Frank struggles with his worry of Mary becoming unhappy, the way Diane was. Mary herself mentions that while Evelyn is smart and has a piano, she knows that Frank liked her before she knew she was "smart" and that's why she wants to stay with him. [[spoiler:Ultimately it's Frank's willingness to fight for Mary's happiness that wins out against Evelyn's driving ambition. He gave her up because he thought she deserved better than him, and he goes back for her on realizing her foster family gave up her beloved one-eyed cat.]]

* GreyAndGreyMorality: It's easy to side with Frank because of his insistence that Mary have a wholesome and "normal" childhood. But it is probably not in Mary's best interests that he is denying her the opportunity to study at the Oakes Academy because of his bad memories about his mother. Evelyn's single-minded focus on education has proven deeply damaging to Diane and possibly also to Frank. But there is some merit in her reply in cross-examination that her upbringing of Diane shouldn't be judged by the same standards as other mothers, because a genius needs a more streamlined focus in life to be able to achieve their true potential and contribute to society through their discoveries. However another factor is Mary's happiness itself is weighed against Evelyn's ambition. While Evelyn does want the best for Mary, her main drive is living her dreams through Mary as Frank points out. Sacrificing Mary's happiness to make up for her own lost opportunities won't help in the long run, if Diane's suicide was any indication.

* NotSoAboveItAll: Mary is usually serious and impatient at times, but when she catches her teacher Ms. Stevenson leaving her uncle's room with a ModestyBedsheet, she smiles and can’t resist a joke about it.

* HeroicBSOD: It's not obvious, but Frank was probably going through one for the entire movie as a result of his guilt over his sister's death and desire to rebel against everything that his mother stood for. Symptoms: renouncing his [[spoiler: academic roots, giving up his presumably well-paid job as an associate-professor in philosophy at Boston University]], making his living as a freelance boat repairer, obstinately refusing to put Mary in the kind of academic environment in which she would intellectually thrive. However later on with the revelation that his sister [[spoiler: committed suicide after completing her life’s work.]] Likely due to the [[StageMom high pressure upbringing that Evelyn plans for Mary.]] Then his reasoning becomes less about rebellion and more about his fear of history repeating .

* HollywoodDateless: It's not explained why Frank has remained a single father for so long.
** That said, we do find out that he has a rule that Mary has to stay over at Roberta's on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings, which suggests that he may not be quite the CelibateHero.
* HypocriticalHumour: Roberta scoffs at Frank for not even being able to hire a white lawyer, although [[BoomerangBigot she is African American herself]].
** Though this is probably less hypocritical than a world-weary assumption that a white lawyer would be taken more seriously in court. Given the easy rapport that Frank's local attorney seems to have with the judge, her concerns may be overblown.

* TakingAThirdOption: Evelyn's lawyer proposes that, instead of Mary living with either of them, she live with a foster family that's close enough for Frank to visit regularly, Evelyn will receive visitation rights, and Mary will attend the gifted school. Frank's lawyer convinces him to take it, on the grounds that it's the only way to guarantee that Mary doesn't get sent to Boston. [[spoiler: Subverted, when Evelyn then manipulates the foster family to give her effective control, and push Frank out.]]

* TakingAThirdOption: The film ends with [[spoiler: Mary returning to public school while taking college-level courses in the morning]].

''Gifted'' is a 2017 American drama-comedy directed by Marc Webb (director of Film/FiveHundredDaysOfSummer and Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries), starring Creator/ChrisEvans, Mckenna Grace, Lindsay Duncan, Creator/JennySlate, and Creator/OctaviaSpencer.