The movie's whodunit structure presents us with several possible killers. As the belligerent redneck husband of one of Annie's best customers, Keanu Reeves draws most of the attention as the possible culprit. In addition, he had an affair with Jessica. Did she call it off and did this anger him? Hillary Swank plays Reeves' frightened wife. She keeps returning to Annie for help. Did she know about the affair and then take revenge? Jessica's fiancé, Wayne Collins (Kinnear), sees his future wife flirting with other men. Does he know about her numerous infidelities? And is this soft spoken grade school principal capable of committing murder? At a party, we saw Jessica plant a not particularly platonic kiss on her father. Was that a sign of incest? And is her father jealous of his daughter's lovers? The local auto mechanic (Giovanni Ribisi) is haunted by demons from his childhood. Is he now psychotic? Jessica was also conducting a dalliance with the county prosecutor (Gary Cole). Is he somehow involved?

Alfred Hitchcock didn't make whodunits. He liked to let us the know the identity of the killer -- so that we would squirm when the hero or heroine ventured into danger. We would realize the threat even if the characters on screen did not, and there lies the suspense. In The Gift, by its very design, we're given several potential killers so that the filmmakers can pull any of them out of a magician's hat. Voila! The killer! And while this approach can be fun, it's also exceptionally superficial. It refuses to allow us to get to know the characters because if they appear as complete, well-rounded characters, we then know what they're capable of. We then know if they're potential killers. So by design, the movie only probes a couple millimeters below the surface. Even Annie is subject to this superficial treatment. After watching her for nearly two hours, it's difficult to determine who she is other than a fortune teller and a mother to three boys. Cate Blanchett is a remarkable actress (who was absolutely superb in Elizabeth), but this role gives her little to hang onto.