The Gift Movie's Alternate Ending Explained

Summary The Gift's alternate ending clarifies Gordo's intentions, but the original ending leaves viewers uncertain and horrified.

The emotional core of the film relies on Simon's shock and uncertainty, making the original ending more impactful.

The Gift's success lies in its memorable and unsettling ending, which separates it from other thrillers.

Joel Edgerton's 2015 psychological thriller The Gift has an alternate ending that would have changed the implications of the ending entirely. The Gift was a surprise box office hit from the first-time director who gained prominence from his writing and acting efforts in 2013's The Rover. Originally titled Weirdo in the development stages, The Gift presented a formidable and tension-filled story of long-awaited revenge between a former high school outcast, Gordo (Edgerton), and bully Simon (Jason Bateman). Things get out of hand when the seemingly innocent Gordo inserts himself into Simon's life and gets too close for comfort.

Rebecca Hall plays Simon's wife, Robyn, who gains sympathy for Gordo despite his innate oddness. Robyn becomes interested in investigating the shared past between Gordo and Simon, discovering painful truths about what kind of man her husband was. By the film's shocking and disturbing ending that lingers far after the end credits roll, the understandably vindictive but outright scary Gordo leaves Simon uncertain whether his newborn child with Robyn is his. The original ending of The Gift makes it intentionally ambiguous, while the alternate ending released on the Blu-Ray/DVD clarifies the matter.

2:34 Related 20 Thrillers That Had Perfect Endings Thrillers provide the perfect template to include a twist or some mind-blowing reveal in their endings, and these movies manage to do exactly that.

What Happens In The Gift's Ending

Gordo Reveals He Might Be Simon's Childs Real Father

The Gift allows Jason Bateman to stray from his typical comedic persona as the story slowly reveals Simon as a gaslighting bully. The Gift ending explained that Simon spread a rumor about Gordo being molested when they were in school, which led to him relentlessly bullying. Gordo's father heard the story and attempted to kill him, leading to Gordo ending up in military school. Later in The Gift, Simon gets fired for attempting to sabotage a colleague's promotion.

Footage shows Gordo taking Robin to the bedroom as the video cuts away, leaving the disturbing implication that he violated Robyn and the baby might be his.

His pregnant wife, Robyn, leaves when she learns what kind of person Simon is. This leads to the movie's most controversial revelation. Gordo sends Simon a video revealing he drugged Robyn in their home nine months earlier. Footage shows Gordo taking Robin to the bedroom as the video cuts away, leaving the disturbing implication that he violated Robyn and the baby might be his. Robyn soon gives birth but has already cut Simon out of her life. Gordo tells Simon on the phone that he wants Simon to be haunted by never knowing the truth.

The Biggest Changes In The Gift's Alternate Ending

The Alternate Ending Shows What Gordo Did

While the original ending of The Gift is disturbing by design, some took issue with the controversial nature of the film's finale. Focusing on how Gordo's revenge primarily affects Simon reduces Robyn to a pawn in Gordo's vindictive scheme. Edgerton shot a few alternate endings during production, one of which CinemaBlend got a hold that completely removed the final scene's ambiguity. This alternate ending made it clear that Gordo didn't assault Robyn when she was unconscious, and the scheme was solely about revenge on Simon. Edgerton didn't use this ending as he felt it didn't have the same impact.

This action makes it abundantly clear that Gordo's revenge in the alternate ending is intended for Simon.

The Gift's alternate ending features Edgeton's Gordo placing Robyn's unconscious body on her and Simon's bed. Edgerton removes his strange monkey mask after filming the low-quality shaky cam footage designed to make it seem that Gordo could do the unthinkable. The alternate ending, however, diverts this theory entirely as Gordo shuts off the camera and looks over Robyn's body with sympathy and slight shame at what he's doing. This action makes it abundantly clear that Gordo's revenge in the alternate ending is intended for Simon, and he did not violate Robyn that way.

Why The Gift's Alternate Ending Was Less Impactful

The Audience Needed To Share Simon's Horror

The Gift's alternate ending would have been ultimately less impactful due to the clarity and relief it provided to the overall drama and terror of the original ending. While much more disturbing, the original ending of The Gift leaves a much more deliberate and stark impression that makes the film altogether more memorable and unsettling. The ambiguity around whether Gordo did something so egregious to Robyn and Simon is the only way that Gordo wins in the end since the viewer feels the same horror and tension that Simon has after the final scene.

The emotional core of the film remains in Simon's shock, horror, and uncertainty

If Edgerton used the alternate ending in The Gift, the viewer would have lost the emotional connection to Simon and would have known the truth along with Gordo. This would have made a relatively happier but much less poignant ending, with any anti-bullying themes and statements the film was trying to make ultimately losing their impact. Gordo could have taken the high road over Simon, as the alternate ending implies. However, the fact the emotional core of the film remains in Simon's shock, horror, and uncertainty is largely why The Gift is such a successful thriller.

What Joel Edgerton Has Said About The Gift's Ending

The Director Explains His Ending Choices

Edgerton believes the alternate ending would have been too "cut and dried" and would have wasted all the tension built up to that point. The ambiguity of the original ending is not about the vileness of Gordo's actions. It is about the lasting impact those actions have had on the rest of Simon's life. The only redeeming quality of the alternate ending is that Gordo looks better but at the expense of losing the impact of the ambiguous ending for the viewer. The alternate ending would have ended with a sigh of relief rather than Simon's shock and horror.

Conversely, the alternate ending would have supported one of the central notions of the entire film, which is that Gordo is a victim of circumstance orchestrated by Simon's bullying. It could have shown that Gordo was not a "weirdo" or a dark person capable of such horrific actions or vengeance by any means necessary. It's worth considering that the alternate ending is certainly more plausible than the shocking original ending of The Gift, but the ambiguity of the final cut ending is what made the film a step above the average thriller.

The Gift's Ending Is What Makes It Great

Gordo Needed To Punish Simon

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The Gift was one of the best-received thrillers in 2015, with a Rotten Tomatoes critic score of an impressive 91% and certified fresh. The Gift reviews praised the performances and Edgerton's slow-burn direction, although one commonly cited issue was the unpleasant twist of its ending. With that said, it was the ending that really made the movie stand out, separating itself from similar thrillers. It is not likely that Gordo is the dad, even in the original ending, but this twist is what really punishes Simon for his misdeeds.

In The Gift alternate ending, Gordo still makes Simon believe he violated Robyn and the baby is his. That didn't change, but the fact the audience knew he didn't takes away that sting because it is easy to know that Simon can prove it one way or the other by just showing Robyn the tape and getting a paternity test. With the audience not knowing one way or the other, it leaves it up to the viewer's imagination to guess what happens next, which is always better than spelling everything out.