The sum of us
The humans in this film are impressive, writes Sue de Groot, but the one-eyed cat is gifted
IT’S not easy being a gifted child. All the literature on the subject speaks of the difficulties faced by children whose abnormally high intelligence is not matched by their psychological development. A gifted child is, to put it somewhat crassly, a person with an advanced adult brain stuck in a child’s body and subject to the same extremes of emotion as any “normal” child.
In Gifted, writer Tom Flynn and director Marc Webb have made a film that brings the genius-child conundrum into heartbreaking focus. Should a little girl’s astonishing intellectual gifts be nurtured at the expense of a happy childhood? If she is held back and forced to adjust to the level of her peers, will that damage her potential for greatness?
These are the questions faced by Frank Adler (Chris Evans), young uncle and guardian to a terrifyingly bright seven-year-old called Mary. Frank is a lapsed philosophy professor who now lives in a Florida trailer park and fixes boats for a living.
McKenna Grace, a gifted child actress if ever there was one, plays Mary. Her thoughtful frown, skiramp eyelashes and irresistible gummy smile, plus a performance of rare intensity, will remind some viewers of a young Drew Barrymore in Steven Spielberg’s 1982 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Hollywood seems better at keeping child stars safe these days, so perhaps Grace will face fewer obstacles on the road to adulthood.
Back in Florida, Mary’s happy life with Frank, their motherly neighbour Roberta (Octavia Spencer) and a one-eyed cat of enormous character called Fred (the actor is not credited) is interrupted when she is sent to school. Which she hates — because she can’t understand how anyone could not know the square root of 67 349.
Mary’s abilities are, naturally, noticed by her pretty teacher Bonnie (Jenny Slate) and an obligatory romantic thread spools out alongside the resulting custody battle between Frank and his British mother Evelyn, played by the formidable Lindsay Duncan with an adamantine frost worthy of Dame Maggie Smith.
As the family storm rages it is revealed why Frank is a drop-out and why he wants to keep Mary safe from the demands of Nobellevel mathematical puzzles.
As is to be expected from any film starring a seven-year-old, there are some overly squishy moments — mostly involving the simpering teacher — but in the main this is a solid family film peppered with humour that tells its story with sincerity and sensitivity.
And then there is Fred. Why the real cat who plays him is not mentioned in the credits is a mystery, because Fred is, in a word, awesome. (It’s a safe bet to say “he” because with very few exceptions all orange cats are male.)
Fred the film cat, according to the website moviepaws.com, was inspired by Fred Flynn, a real oneeyed cat whose adoptive dad is Tom, the writer of Gifted.
It might be that the feline actor chose to keep his name out of lights because in reality he has two eyes. In the film, his image has been digitally manipulated to make him monocular. Perhaps he’s afraid of missing out on roles for two-eyed cats. The special effects are certainly very convincing. As is almost everything about this very sweet movie. But most especially the cat. LS ’Gifted’ is in cinemas