Gabriel's Gift

Portraying the seemingly perpetual adolescence of the sixties generation through the eyes of its children and capturing the spirit of the new generation as well, "Gabriel's Gift" becomes a multilayered meditation on fame, failure, other family legacies, the nature of talent, and the possibility of redemption.

Gabriel's father, a washed-up rock musician, has been chucked out of the house by Gabriel's mother, who works nights and sleeps days. Lonely Gabriel finds solace in a mysterious connection to his deceased twin, Archie, and in his gift for producing real objects simply by drawing them. Then a chance visit with rock star Lester Jones, his father's former band mate, provides Gabriel with a tool that might help mend his family. All he has to do is figure out how to use it.

Hanif Kureishi portrays Gabriel's naive hope and artistic aspirations with the same insight that he brought to the Anglo-Indian experience in "The Buddha of Suburbia" and to infidelity in "Intimacy." "Gabriel's Gift" is a tender meditation on failure, talent, and the power of imagination, and offers a humorous portrait of a generation that only started to think about growing up when its children did.