top of page

Gifted Movie Release Date: April 12, 2017!


I was recently invited to preview Gifted and attend their press junket, I have to say not only do I love this movie, my love for Chris Evans has reached an all new high. From his outstanding acting to his warm and gracious welcoming was heart warming. We were given access to Chris Evans, Mckenna Grace, Octavia Spencer and Jennifer Slate. What an afternoon, to be surrounded with such talent, grace and humility by these accomplished professionals were humbling. To say McKenna Grace is a phenomenal child actress is an understatement. Mckenna handles her character’s wide-ranges of emotions with skill. Mckenna who is only 10 years old delivers a mind blowing performance.

Few fun facts that we took away from the press junket. The movie was filmed Tybee Island, Georgia, which is an absolutely beautiful location, it’s now on my bucket list of places to visit. The animal shelter that was used at the end of the movie had all of their pets adopted by cast and crew, this is where Chris picked up his dog! Fox Searchlight and GIFTED have partnered with Best Friends Animal Society to help save the lives of dogs and cats in shelters. Click HERE to find out more. Adopt or sponsor a cat in need and Fox Searchlight will double the love. When you adopt a cat or kitten from any Best Friends location between March 6th and May 8th, Fox Searchlight will make a $25 *gift to Best Friends to help end the killing of dogs and cats in our nation's animal shelters. Even if you're not ready to adopt, you can sponsor a cat in need and Fox Searchlight will *match your donation.

*Spoiler Alerts*

Gifted is about an uncle (Frank) that’s raising her deceased sister's daughter (Mary). Once the grandmother (Evelyn) realizes her granddaughter is gifted, she swoops in to take over. As a single mother, as a parent, it is in our worst nightmares to think we might not be around to raise our children, in this movie however the mother's death was by suicide. Even then, in her darkest moment, she had the clarity to ask her brother to raise her daughter, she wanted to make sure her daughter was in good hands. To raise her with a normal childhood, to play with other children, join the Girl Scouts, to run and be free. You might view the grandmother as the wicked woman coming in and destroying her son and granddaughter by tearing them apart but I felt sorry for her. She was almost pathetic in certain ways. No matter the amount of money you have, if you don’t have peace of mind you’ll never find comfort in anything. She had it all, the grandmother, except the love of her children and granddaughter. She was trying to live her life through her daughter and now, her granddaughter. Instead of finding a path for herself she wanted to pick up where she left off with her own daughter through Mary. When you do see the movie, look at it from this perspective, it’s easy to say she’s evil but she really isn’t, she’s sad and bitter.

More than a few scenes will have you tearing up, one particular scene was when Frank took Mary to a hospital waiting room so she can learn a life lesson by watching the delighted reactions of relatives receiving news about a baby’s birth. Or the scene that will have your heart hurting was the gut wrenching moment when Mary becomes hysterical when Frank is forced to leave her with her foster parents. One particular scene will have your heart exploding with happiness, it's when Frank saves Mary's cat from the shelter and in the process saves two other cats that lead up to him getting Mary. Their reunification scene will have you at the edge of your seat and gasping for air when secrets are revealed!

Frank Adler (Chris Evans) is a single man raising a child prodigy - his spirited young niece Mary (Mckenna Grace) - in a coastal town in Florida. Frank's plans for a normal school life for Mary are foiled when the 7-year-old's mathematical abilities come to the attention of Frank's formidable mother, Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan), whose plans for her granddaughter threaten to separate Frank and Mary.

bottom of page