Cate Blanchette plays Annie Wilson. She’s a psychic in a small town where it seems everyone has an I.Q. lower than the speed limit in the school zone -- particularly the men. In general she’s despised by the men in the town since she tends to tell their wives things that they don’t want them to hear -- like "leave him or he’ll beat you to death." Nevertheless, she’s tolerated as an eccentric and a freak and the wives stay with their husband hoping that one day they’ll change. However, when an attractive, young and wealthy local woman goes missing (Katie Holmes) the police are at a loss to know what happened and turn to Annie for clues

The Gift doesn’t really break any new ground here, but it is a superior thriller and does do a great job in keeping the audience at the edge of their seats. There’s enough twists and turns in the plot that will keep most guessing who’s bad and who’s not until the end. Throughout there are some genuine surprises that provide enough cheap thrills to keep the tension high. It stays that way until the end went it succumbs to the temptation to be too much like a standard slasher film. Still, it’s very good.

What helps make The Gift work is its outstanding cast. In particular, Keanu Reeves is the real surprise of this movie. His role as Donnie Barksdale, the wife-beating redneck husband of Valerie (Hilary Swank), is frighteningly real. I’ve had my doubts about his abilities in the past, but The Gift proves he can actually act. I just wish he would get more roles like this.

The Gift arrived in movie theaters at just the right time. Hollywood had just released its Christmas rush of movies, most of which bombed, and I hadn’t seen what I would call a decent suspense thriller in months. The Gift is by no means great, but it is well-written and finely acted thriller worthy of a ***1/2 rating.

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