Line #48 Film/TheGift2000


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_gift_2000.jpg]]
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3	A 2000 {{Horror}}/MysteryFiction film directed by Creator/SamRaimi, written by Creator/BillyBobThornton and Tom Epperson, and starring Creator/CateBlanchett, Creator/KeanuReeves, Creator/GiovanniRibisi, Creator/KatieHolmes, Creator/GregKinnear, Creator/HilarySwank and Creator/KimDickens.
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5	Annie Wilson is a young widow trying to make ends meet in a small town in Alabama as a clairvoyant. She's booked around the clock by those seeking advice, but the rest of the town sees her either as a [[ConArtist liar]] or a [[HollywoodSatanism witch]]. Annie is [[GotVolunteered called]] [[OccultDetective upon]] by those who normally don't ask for her help, however, when [[MissingWhiteWomanSyndrome the daughter of the richest man in town goes missing and the investigation hits a brick wall]]. As she tries to help the investigation, being contacted by the ghost of the missing woman the whole time, her normal duties of being a [[DisappearedDad widowed mother]] and advising some locals with some very real problems of their own begins to fall apart.
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7	Not to be confused with ''Film/TheGift2015''.
8	----
9	!!Provides examples of:
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11	* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler: It’s revealed that Buddy’s father was abusing him sexually and his mother knew but did nothing.]]
12	* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Jessica King. Also Valerie.
13	* AlliterativeName: David Duncan.
14	* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Thanks to her clairvoyance, most of the citizens of Brixton regard Annie with suspicion at best.
15	* AssholeVictim: Downplayed. Jessica was an adulterer and [[spoiler:her last moments with her killer, Wayne, has her being an asshole to him, but she still didn't deserved to be murdered in such a horrendous way]].
16	* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: [[spoiler: Wayne assaults Annie violently when she learns that he killed his fiancée Jessica King. Annie is on the receiving end of a head injury after being hit with a heavy flashlight, but all she has to show for it is a trickle of blood down her face.]]
17	* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Buddy is so kind and loyal to Annie because the latter has treated him with more kindness and compassion than many of the townsfolk have.
18	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The real killer, Wayne, is caught. Annie learns that Buddy killed himself but she did have one last conversation with his spirit, who appeared at peace. It's unknown what became of Donnie and Valerie's marriage. However, Annie takes her boys to their father's grave, implying she's ready to move on]].
19	* BlessedWithSuck: Annie can see the future. Shame the future is filled with horrors.
20	* CallingTheOldManOut: [[spoiler:Buddy does this in the most extreme way imaginable -- he sets his father in flames because the latter sexually abused him and also angrily yells at his mother for knowing about the abuse but not stopping it]].
21	* CatapultNightmare: Annie is prone to this, usually after she’s DreamingOfThingsToCome.
22	* ClusterFBomb: The f word gets thrown around plenty by various characters.
23	* DeadGuyJunior: Ben is named after his deceased father.
24	* DisappearedDad: Ben Sr. to his and Annie's sons, as he's already dead by the beginning.
25	* DomesticAbuse: Donnie does not treat Valerie well at all.
26	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: To Annie’s horror, Buddy committed suicide at a mental hospital.]]
27	* FaceHeelTurn: Donnie is the only obviously villainous character in the story. [[spoiler: When it turns out he's not the killer, you know this is going to happen.]]
28	* FallGuy: [[spoiler:Wayne frames Donnie for Jessica’s murder.]]
29	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
30	** [[spoiler: Early into Jessica’s disappearance, Annie has a vision of a pond with white lilies growing nearby which is where Jessica was found dead. Lilies, especially white ones, are often a symbol of death and are often displayed at funerals.]]
31	** Buddy, while protecting Miller from Donnie, frantically yells at the latter older man to pull the gun at his head and kill him. [[spoiler:Near the end, Annie learns that Buddy killed himself]].
32	* HappilyMarried: Annie and Ben Senior were this before he died.
33	* HollywoodHeartAttack: [[spoiler: Mr. King suffers from one after Jessica’s body was retrieved from Donnie’s pond.]]
34	* InnocentBlueEyes: Annie has these, as do her children.
35	* InTheBlood: According to Annie’s grandmother, her psychic abilities run in the family.
36	* IronicEcho: Used to great effect a couple of times.
37	** "Donnie's not crazy enough to kill anybody."
38	** "She didn't like it when I killed her."
39	* JerkassHasAPoint: Donnie is ''not'' a saint. He's an abusive husband, threatens women and children, and is all around jerk. However, [[spoiler: he turns out to be right about him being set up for Jessica's murder.]]
40	* KnownOnlyByTheirNickname: Annie’s full name is actually Annabelle but she never uses it.
41	* TheLostLenore: Annie is still grieving her husband's death, especially because of the guilt she feels for not having prevent it sooner.
42	* MagicRealism: The film is quite realistic, if we do not take into account the visions of the main heroine and TheReveal.
43	* MamaBear: Annie threatens to kill Donnie if he threatened her boys.
44	* MeanCharacterNiceActor: Abusive cheater Donnie is played by amiable Keanu Reeves.
45	* AMindIsATerribleThingToRead: Averted, though subtly implied. Annie goes on a rant about how the entire situation is the exact opposite of fun when accused of enjoying the theatrical trial, of which she has been made the main attraction. That same trial asked her to read the defense attorney's mind, but she can't.
46	* MonochromeCasting: Pretty much everyone who appears on screen is white. The setting is a small, rural town in the DeepSouth, so it doesn't strain credulity ''too'' hard.
47	* OddNameOut: Of Annie’s children: Mike, Miller, and Ben, Ben is the only one of his siblings who doesn’t have an “M” name.
48	* OnlyFriend: Buddy specifically refers to Annie as this to him.
49	* OutlivingOnesOffspring: [[spoiler: Mr. King outlives his daughter Jessica after she’s brutally murdered. It also doubles as a tearjerker because there’s no mention of her mother and she’s implied to be an only child.]]
50	* PapaWolf: Mr. King went to great lengths to find his daughter when she went missing.
51	* ParentsAsPeople: Annie won’t let her oldest son, Mike, go to counseling to process his fathers death after Wayne suggests it. When Mike tries to bring him up in conversation, Annie clams up and won’t hear a word of it. She does take him and his brothers to visit their fathers grave though.
52	* PoliceAreUseless: Played with. The police are adept at solving Jessica’s disappearance (albeit with Annie’s help), but when Donnie breaks into Annie’s home and vandalizes the inside, the authorities barely do a thing.
53	* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Donnie is not only an abusive husband but also anti-semitic and racist.
54	* PosthumousCharacter: Annie’s husband Ben Wilson Senior has died one year prior to the events of the movie.
55	* RapeAsBackstory: [[spoiler:Buddy was sexually abused by his father]].
56	* RedHerring: [[spoiler: Donnie, an abusive husband and racist, turns out to be this]].
57	* ReallyGetsAround: Donnie. [[spoiler: Also Jessica.]]
58	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Sheriff Pearl Johnson is skeptical of Annie’s abilities, but he does admit that she was a big help solving Jessica King’s disappearance.
59	* ShownTheirWork: In preparation for her role as Annie, Cate Blanchett visited five different psychics in one week. Keanu Reeves and Hilary Swank (who play Donnie and Valerie respectively) also visited local abuse counselors to better understand why men abuse their wives and why women stay with abusive spouses.
60	* SouthernGothic: Takes place in Brixton, Georgia.
61	* StrugglingSingleMother: A downplayed version. Annie makes a nice income and has some help looking after her sons, but is still grieving their father's death and must deal with her eldest son acting out.
62	* SweetTooth: A brief scene shows Ben as this, having eaten the chocolate frosting Annie was planning to use for a cake.
63	* UnkemptBeauty: Annie.
64	* UptownGirl: Jessica King was this for her fiancé.
65	* UselessBystanderParent: [[spoiler:Buddy calls out his mother for not stopping the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of his father despite being aware of it.]]
66	* VillainHasAPoint: [[spoiler:Wayne may been Jessica's murderer and framed Donnie, but he wasn't wrong in his suggestion that Annie get her son counseling, as he's clearly going through trauma over his father's death]].
67	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler: After Jessica’s real killer was identified, there’s no mention if Donnie was declared innocent of murder and released from jail or if he was kept in jail for domestic abuse.]]
68	* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Donnie had given Annie nothing but grief -- harassing both her and her sons as well as being a jerk in general. [[spoiler:So, when she discovers that he's not Jessica's killer, she decides to find out who the real killer is. She makes no secret of her dislike of the man, but also can't let an innocent man be imprisoned.]]
69	* WidowWitch: Annie is a widow and suspected of being a witch by half the town.
70	* AWolfInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler: Wayne is revealed to be Jessica’s killer, but prior to Annie learning the truth he plays the role of the grieving fiancé well.]]
71	* WouldHitAGirl: Donnie will hit his wife, Annie in the stomach, or his girlfriend.
72	* WouldHurtAChild: Donnie is not above threatening children.

Context Film / TheGift2000