Fox Searchlight has released the first trailer for Gifted. The film stars Chris Evans as Frank Adler, a single parent trying to raise his niece Mary (Mckenna Grace), and everything is going fine until the 7-year-old reveals that she’s math prodigy. While Frank wants to hold to his late sister’s wishes and try to give Mary a normal childhood, he runs up against his formidable mother (Lindsay Duncan) who wants to enroll Mary in a special program for gifted students.

This is director Marc Webb’s first non-Spider-Man movie since (500) Days of Summer, but judging by the trailer, it looks surprisingly by the numbers. It appears to be a borderline movie of the week, and while I like that it’s setting up a conflict where there’s no clear villain, the picture does appear to be leaning a little on the schmaltzy side. Hopefully that’s the just trailer going for an easy sell and there’s a bit more nuance and style to Webb’s latest picture.  You're always in a bit of a danger zone when your film features a precocious moppet since that character type can be a bit grating.

Check out the Gifted trailer below. The film opens April 12, 2017, and also stars Jenny Slate and Octavia Spencer.

Here’s the official synopsis for Gifted:

Frank Adler (Chris Evans) is a single man raising a child prodigy - his spirited young niece Mary (Mckenna Grace) - in a coastal town in Florida.  Frank's plans for a normal school life for Mary are foiled when the seven-year-old’s mathematical abilities come to the attention of Frank’s formidable mother Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan) whose plans for her granddaughter threaten to separate Frank and Mary.  Octavia Spencer plays Roberta, Frank and Mary’s landlady and best friend.  Jenny Slate is Mary’s teacher, Bonnie, a young woman whose concern for her student develops into a connection with her uncle as well.

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Image via Fox Searchlight