When Jessica disappears, it slowly becomes more evident where the story is going. After a desperate search, the sheriff s department and Wayne reluctantly appeal to Annie s gift in a desperate attempt to find out where the missing girl has gone. Initially, Annie can do nothing to help but, gradually, she receives a chilling vision of the dead debutante, and what she sees is evidence of murder. At this point in the narrative, Raimi s atmospheric pacing comes to a screeching halt. The Gift quickly switches gears into mystery thriller mode, and, even worse, drops an extended courtroom sequence right in the middle of the story.
Nothing can kill the rhythm of an artfully paced movie like a courtroom sequence.
With big chunks of exposition masquerading as dialogue, and static, simplistic editing and camera work, the courtroom sequence, by its very nature, is the antithesis of the kind of subtle, organic plot development of The Gift s first act. The courtroom scenes don t even really advance the plot. Sure, they throw some red herrings our way and give Blanchett an Oscar moment when Annie breaks down during cross examination, but when all is said and done, nothing happens in this unwieldy section of the narrative that couldn t be summed up in a few minutes of montage. From the courtroom sequence forward, The Gift becomes predominantly plot-driven. When Annie continues to have visions of the murdered girl, it becomes evident that the wrong man has been thrown in jail, and the rest of the film involves Annie and Wayne s search for the real murderer.