Gifted (2017)

Gifted is the kind of crowd-pleasing drama-comedy that sneaks up on you: it looks modest, then steadily wins you over with warmth, wit, and a big, bruised heart. Chris Evans gives one of his most grounded performances as a guardian trying to protect a child’s right to be a kid, while Mckenna Grace is a revelation—funny, sharp, and emotionally precise in a way that makes every scene feel lived-in. Marc Webb keeps the tone tender without turning syrupy, finding humor in everyday messiness and real poignancy in the hard choices families make when love and ambition collide. It does lean into familiar beats of the custody-battle genre, but if you’re on the fence and want a film that leaves you feeling moved rather than manipulated, this one earns it.

Gifted is aiming for a heartfelt, crowd-pleasing tug-of-war between “let a kid be a kid” and “don’t waste rare talent,” and it mostly plays like a glossy, accessible tearjerker rather than a nuanced family drama. The problem is the screenplay leans hard on familiar custody-battle beats and emotional pressure points, so you can often see the turns coming and feel the movie nudging you toward the “right” feelings. If you’re allergic to sentimentality or you want a sharper, less contrived take on giftedness and parenting, this may feel engineered instead of earned. Still, Chris Evans brings a grounded warmth, and Mckenna Grace is genuinely compelling enough to make the sweeter moments land even when the plot is on autopilot.