Marc Webb’s Gifted isn’t just a good movie, but it’s an excellent one. While the story might not be unique by any stretch of the imagination, it’s beautiful, honest, and vulnerable. And it features one of—if not the best—performances from Chris Evans.
Since the release of Celine Song’s gorgeous romance Materialists, the internet has been debating Evans’ best performances, but not enough people are acknowledging the astounding life he breathes into Frank Adler. Pair him with McKenna Grace, who brilliantly holds her own throughout in one of the best performances from a young actress, and Gifted becomes an indescribably heartfelt and memorable movie.
Chris Evans Brings His A-Game in Gifted
The thing about Chris Evans is that sometimes, he’ll take on roles with mid-level scripts that won’t let him show off his chops. But anyone who doubted Evans from the early days of Not Another Teen Movie was proven wrong with his inimitable work as Steve Rogers. As one of the first actors to get his solo film outside of Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, Evans showed the audience what he was capable of by layering Steve Rogers with unwavering loyalty and a plethora of heart. Although there have been some not-so-great films in his career, Gifted is one of the movies we should’ve been paying closer attention to. (I was!)
What Evans does as the guardian of his gifted seven-year-old niece (Grace) is no small feat. From the moment the film opens to the final shot, every quiet expression on Evans’ face reveals endless layers and warmth to the character’s inner world. As an actor who can easily be typecast because of his charm and appealing physical features, Evans ensures that we spot differences in his roles entirely through his expressions. No one looked at him as Steve Rogers and remembered Johnny Storm. I didn’t watch him in Materialists and think of Gifted or What’s Your Number? (Except in the case of wanting to scream about how great his range is!) Because ultimately, no matter what he’s doing, Chris Evans is fully embodying the character he’s playing and believing entirely in their journey.
It’s worth mentioning that this type of embodiment is different from method acting because it stems from a profound understanding of the layers that make a character who they are. When Evans has a solid script and great scene partners to work with, there’s nothing he can’t do, and every beat of Gifted proves this fact. More than anything, the role works because the writing takes us into the headspace of a man who was never ready to become a fatherly figure and still isn’t. He’s internally fighting his own battles in a time and place where he doesn’t know better about how he can help himself.
In addition to the character studies, the film also offers subtle commentary on how men aren’t often given the space to be vulnerable or ask for help, even when they’re aware that it’s something they could use. He’s taking it day by day and doing his absolute best to ensure that Mary deserves a better life than his late sister did.
There’s brokenness, guilt, and grief in everything Frank does. An immovable pain is wedged so deep inside of him that even when he’s smiling and offering glimmers of joy, heartache still hangs in his expression. The loss of his sister and his upbringing follow him around like a shadow, and through every gaze, Chris Evans shows this. There’s a moment when the characters are sitting in the hospital, and Mary realizes why they’re there, where we only see Evans’ profile. However, even in that small instant, he shows the audience every bit of the indescribable joy he felt at the hospital when she was born. To convey that much solely with his profile and his tone as he answers Mary’s questions? No notes.
Further, when we reach the film’s third act and have to watch him lose Mary, that’s where Evans continues to floor me because he’s still holding a plethora back as the character tries his hardest not to crack. When he breaks down in the car after leaving Mary and then crumbles when they’re reunited, every bit of his heart is on display throughout the scenes. It’s all for her—every little thing he does is to help her have the type of life he couldn’t. It’s to ensure she gets a life she deserves, full of the kind of childhood memories that could shape her into becoming an even healthier adult.
So much of the sincerity that’s quietly brimming inside of Frank is because of the deeply honest performance Chris Evans is bringing to the role. It’s raw, tender, surprisingly soft, sharp, genuinely funny at times, and inarguably exemplary.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Searchlight Pictures