The Gift That Gives (2024)

The Gift That Gives

Creating a movie has never been more possible, and Joy Hopwood, writer/director in her fourth film (The Gift That Gives), has taken it to the next level. She made The Script of Life in 2019 and followed it up with Rhapsody of Love and Get a Life, Alright! In doing so, she discovered her own unique style.

But in The Gift That Gives, self-help author Callum (Takaya Honda) meets community TV presenter Kate (Lily Brown-Griffiths), and falls for her besty bookshop owner Linda (HaiHa Le). But luckily for Kate, Callum’s got a hot brother; Austin (Damien Sato), who needs someone caring.

Throw into this romantic foursome Callum & Austin’s parents played by Susan Ling Young & Lex Marinos respectively and you have a cross section of middle Australians living in the suburbs naturally there’s pride placed on diversity here too; including Maria Tran’s farting yoga instructor Genevieve Craig’s small business owner and Atharv Kolhatkar’s art teacher.

Takaya Honda (Neighbours) makes for a likeable lead; Susan Ling Young & Lex Marinos are welcome comedic support whenever they’re on screen. It is simple story telling that doesn’t overstay its welcome. There is an unashamed TV flatness to both the style of the film itself as well as its writing; what you see is what you get with two-dimensional inner lives for characters even when hinted otherwise. Like any great John Cassavetes work there is loose but through ensemble here under Hopwood’s concerns which may not be edgy but that doesn’t make them less valid.

Joy Hopwood does some heavy lifting when it comes to representation truer representation of the characters we see on our screens. And they’re not cliches or stereotypes either! So The Gift That Gives does live up to its title in many ways, and it’d be rude not to take it for what it is.

Watch The Gift That Gives For Free On Gomovies.