The Gift
Set in the fictional town of Brixton, Georgia, young widow and mother of three young boys Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchett), is the town fortuneteller. The town is abuzz with the disappearance of Jessica King (Katie Holmes), fiance of Wayne Collins (Greg Kinnear), the school's principal.
As the search for Jessica begins, the local police and Jessica's father, Kenneth King (Chelcie Ross), enlist Annie's help to see if she can solve Jessica's disappearance. Annie is unable to produce a vision, largely due to the presence of Sheriff Pearl Johnson (J. K. Simmons), who looks upon Annie's trade unfavorably.
Annie later receives a vision that Jessica has been murdered and her body weighed down by a chain and thrown into a pond. She also sees a fiddle player, white lilies, and a split-rail fence. She goes to Sherrif Johnson with her findings, and with the information, Johnson decides to search a pond on the property of violent alcoholic Donnie Barksdale (Keanu Reeves), whose battered wife, Valerie (Hilary Swank), gives permission to search their house as Donnie is away fishing. Donnie returns while the search is proceeding. As the police are ready to give up on the search, they find the naked and chained body of Jessica King. Donnie is immediately arrested.
During his trial for Jessica's murder, it is revealed that Jessica and Barksdale had an affair, and Jessica's reputation for promiscuity is exposed in court. The case against Barksdale is strengthened when a scratch on his forearm is proven to have been perpetrated by Jessica during a confrontation at a local bar. Annie also takes the stand, and though her psychic testimony is ridiculed by skeptic defense attorney Gerald Weems (Michael Jeter), Donnie is eventually convicted and sent to prison.
A subplot reveals other examples of Annie's "gift". Buddy Cole (Giovanni Ribisi) harbors an intense hatred for his father, and consistently has fits of seemingly unprovoked rage, including incidents with Annie -- one of Buddy's only friends -- and with Donnie Barksdale. Buddy tries to explain to Annie why he hates his father, but Annie is preoccupied and doesn't want to listen to the panicky and vulgar Buddy. He asks her, "If I look into a blue diamond, will I die?" but doesn't elaborate. Unable to understand the question, Annie shrugs Buddy off.
Soon after, Buddy's hysterical mother calls Annie to come over, as Buddy has snapped and has his father bound to a chair. Buddy sets fire to his father, and as Annie tries to stop him, he shows her a blue diamond tattoo on his father's navel. It is revealed that Buddy's father took advantage of his son's fragile mental state to force him into fellatio. An ambulance takes Buddy's father away, while Buddy is taken to a psychiatric hospital.
Later, Annie receives another vision saying that Donnie is innocent. She asks District Attorney David Duncan (Gary Cole) to reopen the case. Duncan refuses, but Annie counters that she will reveal Duncan's own involvement with Jessica King, as Annie had caught them making out in the women's restroom at a local dance. Duncan offers her money to keep quiet, but Annie refuses, still wanting justice for Barksdale.
Annie tells Principal Collins that Barksdale is not responsible for his fiance's death and that D.A. Duncan will not reopen the investigation. After driving out to the pond that night with Collins, Annie realizes that Collins is the murderer. He confesses to Annie that he was angry after he discovered that she was cheating on him with nearly every man in town. Knowing that she'll go to the police, Collins attempts to kill Annie. Just as he is about to land a fatal blow with a steel flashlight, Buddy Cole shows up and knocks Collins out.
Sitting in the car at the pond, Buddy, uncharacteristically calm, returns a handkerchief that Annie had loaned him earlier, and tells her that she is the heart and soul of the town and not to stop doing what she's doing. The two drive to the police station with Collins stowed in the trunk. Annie tells Buddy that he will have to return to the hospital, and he waits in the car while she goes inside to talk with Sheriff Johnson. When Annie explains to Johnson what happened at the pond and that Buddy saved her life, the sheriff informs her that Buddy Cole had hanged himself at the hospital earlier that day. She returns to her car to find Buddy gone. However, Annie still has her handkerchief that Buddy's ghost returned to her.
