Second Viewing is a series here at The Nerds Templar where we discuss a movie we’ve seen before that we then watched again for a second time. Maybe we saw it at the theater and then catch it again on home video or streaming services or maybe it’s a film we watched years ago and view again today to see how it holds up.
I first saw Gifted when it screened in 2017. I remember enjoying it, but had never sat down to watch it again. After seeing Mckenna Grace in the latest Ghostbusters flick I decided I needed to rewatch Gifted and I’m glad I did. It doesn’t do anything we haven’t seen before, but Grace, Chris Evans, Jenny Slate and Octavia Spencer are all fantastic and worth the watch.
If you aren’t familiar with the film, Evans plays Frank, the uncle of Grace’s Mary. Her mother had committed suicide and Frank is forced to raise her. She’s sent to school and immediately catches the eye of her teacher (Slate). Doing mathematics well above her first grade level, Mary is clearly gifted. Slate and the principal bring Frank into the school to figure out what to do about the young girl. Frank just wants her to have a normal life, have friends her own age and go to regular school. All this attention brings Mary’s grandmother into the fold and she wants custody of the girl and to give her the education she deserves. Frank knows what his and his sister’s upbringing was like under their controlling mother and a custody battle ensues. You ultimately know where the emotional roller coaster will end, but the performances of the cast hide any by-the-book issues.
Even though his run in the MCU ended five years ago now, if you mention Chris Evans to someone they will most likely reference Captain America. Gifted proves Chris is much more than Steve Rogers. He’s great in Snowpiercer, but it’s films like Gifted and Before We Go (which he also directed) that I like seeing him in. His Frank genuinely wants what he thinks is best for Mary. He wants her to be a kid, to go out and play and have friends, all things his mother didn’t allow with him and his sister. If women didn’t already want Chris Evans because of his physical appearance, they will love him for being the uncle who thinks about his niece before everything else.
Jenny Slate is very good as Mary’s teacher and a love interest for Frank. Sure their storyline really isn’t necessary, but it shows what Frank is giving up for Mary and how he puts her first. Slate usually gives a big, comedic performance, but here she is toned down bringing authenticity to the role. Octavia Spencer is always good and even in a smaller role as the landlord/friend/babysitter for Mary, like Slate, she brings an authentic aspect to the character. You can 100% see why she cares for Mary and even Frank.
But the film lives and breathes through Mckenna Grace’s Mary. At such a young age she thrives opposite her much older co-stars. She gets laughs whether it’s with her uncle or dealing with her classroom or her one-eyed cat Fred. With the IQ Mary has at her age, she’s smarter than everyone else, but lacks the life experience and understanding to go with it. There are emotional scenes Grace knocks out of the park that never feel saccharine or manipulative. It is a powerhouse performance for someone that young.
Marc Webb returned to smaller budgeted filmmaking with Gifted and I enjoyed it a lot. It doesn’t rewrite the book on movies like this and the easiest comparison is I Am Sam, but I’m ok with a movie being exactly what it wants to be. The performances make up for knowing how the film will end and it’s a lot funnier than I remember it being. If you are looking for a grounded, human storyline and haven’t caught this yet, I highly recommend it.
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