Film - Gifted

'Gifted' refers to the mathematics ability of a young girl who is being raised by her uncle after her mother’s suicide. My belief is that anyone can be an expert with enough (10,000 hours) practice but in this case, we find young Mary has inherited her super brain from her mum, who inherited it from hers.Rather than risk what happened to his sister when the world’s problems seemed to rest on her shoulders, he decides to give Mary a normal life. Of course she plays up at her new school because she is so bored. Luckily in this case, her teacher is one of the good kind; the kind that sees her potential and wants to encourage rather than stifle it.But Uncle Frank is torn between giving her a childhood and being bored by her peers and allowing her to go to a school where other smart kids go.Around this time, Mary’s grandmother decided to meet the seven year old for the first time, wanting her to follow in her daughters footsteps giving Uncle Frank even more headaches.The mighty Octavia Spencer is in it playing the kindly neighbour so it’s worth a watch for her worldly presence alone. But the kid’s mean looks are ones to savour too.A little predictable but the sweet moments to take you on the proverbial emotional rollercoaster too.7½/10