Gifted

McKenna Grace was brilliantly cast, and you believe that she's a genius girl. But perhaps an even bigger surprise is Chris Evans, who is not just a muscular hunk but can handle even a more complicated role. It is touching, but in a way that the film entertained me, I wanted to know how it would turn out, and I couldn't tear myself away from it. (20/08/2017)

A small-scale drama in which Captain America looks after an intellectually gifted young girl. The scenes from the court case are held together by nice stories from life in the country and solving the most complicated mathematical equations possible. McKenna plays Grace wonderfully and Evans shows that he not only throws a good shield, but he can manage more demanding tests. You will shed a tear at the end. (24/09/2019)

The story of this movie is a very gratifying topic and I expected a solid emotional ride. In the end, however, the movie disappointed me a little, because the flawless topic is intertwined with the lawsuits and the mother-son relationship that I found completely illogical. I really got lost in that. If I were the son of such a mother, I would immediately send her to hell and would no longer talk to her. So, the stuff that happened didn’t really make much sense to me even though I understand a bit why it happened. Everything else was fine, though. It is that sort of gratifying movie that will make you feel good afterward. (21/03/2018)

Webb does a great job of portraying the relationship between the two central characters, the dialogue is witty and clever, and overall it's very beautiful to watch (and I'm not gay, but looking at Chris Evans doesn't turn me off); but only until the main plot and its unoriginal and stale story kick in. Although I was happy to sit through the whole thing with the likeable characters, I really felt sorry that the script went down this particular path of courtroom shenanigans and more or less abandoned adapting the brilliant Mary to a normal setting and developing the relationships with the supporting characters, which I found by far the most interesting and original part of the film. There are a few very nice and emotional moments, but unfortunately the expected ending fizzles out like bubbles from a badly chilled beer – and it's a pity, because Webb really knows how to evoke the heady feeling of a well served beer. (27/12/2017)

Marc Webb has a big advantage, he is very aware of the fact that Chris Evans is no longer just the muscular Captain America, but a charismatic actor who can easily handle the roles of a fragile boy with a heart up his sleeve, and this role is far from a first for him. Thematically, this is an accomplished film that is emotionally coherent, healthily light in its approach to the viewer, and at times properly urgent, truthful and personal, with life's wisdoms and truths, yet non-moralizing and without imposing its own mark. Rarely is a film about children so true to the real "what it might really look like", and this one is very close. (08/07/2019)