‘Gift’ slick, effective thriller

Nobody likes a bully, especially a past victim with a long memory.

Figuring out who’s the bully and who’s the victim is part of the mystery in “The Gift,” a satisfying directorial debut from writer, producer and star Joel Edgerton. While it doesn’t break any new ground, the first feature from new studio STX Entertainment succeeds as the kind of unsettling psychological thriller that could inspire one to double-check the locks on the front door.

Simon (Jason Bateman) and wife Robyn (Rebecca Hall) just relocated from Chicago to a picture-perfect house in his hometown of Los Angeles, where he has a great new job and an impending promotion. Simon insists his wife not start working right away so they can focus on starting a family.

While out shopping, the couple bumps into Simon’s old high school classmate, Gordo (Edgerton). Shy and awkward, he reintroduces himself to Simon, who didn’t recognize him. They exchange pleasantries and innocuously part ways.

Suddenly, a bottle of wine appears on the couple’s doorstep, a gift from Gordo, though they hadn’t given him their address. Then he pops by unannounced, ostensibly to be helpful. More spontaneous gifts follow along with a dinner invitation.

To Robyn, Gordo seems lonely. To Simon, he seems delusional. He remembers they called him Weirdo back in high school.

When Simon insists they cut ties, Gordo responds with an ominous reference to their shared history, which inspires Robyn to examine what happened between them as teenagers.

She becomes the protagonist in the film’s second half, an amateur detective investigating her husband’s past. The more she discovers, the more she distrusts him. Gordo doesn’t seem so solid, either.

The three leads make their performances look effortless, a credit to Edgerton’s direction.