Directed by rock-and-roll couple Perry Farrell (lead singer of the defunct L.A. band Jane's Addiction) and Casey Niccoli, GIFT may appeal to the band's devoted following. A lethargic, arty examination of their relationship, it has some shock value, but little else to offer.
Casey calls her husband Perry at a recording studio and says she has a present for him, apparently referring to some heroin. She shoots up and collapses. Perry comes home, finds Casey dead, and begins to reminisce about their relationship. He recounts the story of their drug addiction,
including a tale about a generous prescription-writing doctor.
Perry picks up Casey and makes love to her. Another drug story about a group therapy session for addicts surfaces. As Perry gazes at pictures of Casey, he recalls their Santerian wedding in Mexico. Finally, paramedics arrive. They discover Perry has dressed his dead wife up in a wedding dress,
swathed her in flowers, and taken her picture. The police are called. They ask Perry questions about Casey's death and then arrest him as a possible homicide suspect.
GIFT has its macabre side, its avant-garde side, its rockumentary side, and its love story side. Farrell and Niccoli might have been better off choosing one angle and sticking with it, because as it is, GIFT is scattered, slow, and boring. The couple's drugged-out inertia hardly has the passion
of, say, SID AND NANCY, and Farrell's stoned sneer won't rouse a sympathy in any but his most devoted fans. The strobed video effects here spice up a dragging tempo at first, but grow tiresome. Jane's Addiction fans beware: band footage is sparse; there are clips of about four songs. (Adult
situations, profanity, graphic substance abuse.) leave a comment