[Movie Review] The Giver (2014)
Director: Phillip Noyce
Writers: Michael Mitnick (screenplay), Robert B. Weide (screenplay), Lois Lowry (b00k)
Runtime: 94 min
Main Cast:
- Jeff Bridges as The Giver
- Meryl Streep as Chief Elder
- Brenton Thwaites as Jonas
- Alexander Skargard as Father
- Katie Holmes as Mother
- Odeya Rush as Fiona
- Cameron Monaghan as Asher
- Taylor Swift as Rosemary
Review: by Anthony and Lee
The Giver is a classic, plain and simple. Though only one of us had read the book, we both knew this fact to be true. Considering the quantity of young adult dystopian science fiction novels being made into movies, it was inevitable that the mother of them all would have to hit the big screen, and it was equally inevitable that we were going to have to see it.
The Giver told the story of a futuristic society, a veritable utopia, created to ensure peace and unity amongst its citizens. Blissfully unaware of the past, of hurt and war, the citizens were satisfied with their communities’ ways of life. However, when it came time for one young man to receive the knowledge of his future career, it all went haywire. Jonas, the main character, was assigned the position of “Receiver of Memory,” a very important position on which the society relies heavily for advice on its continued success. When Jonas received the memories from “The Giver of Memories,” however, he realized all that was wrong with their society and set out to fix it for everyone.
What We Liked:
The movie certainly achieved its purpose of sentimentality. The series of images and videos flashed before the audiences eyes as Jonas received memories of love, music, dancing, beauty, pain, and even war were stunning and emotionally provocative. Several times Anthony looked over at me, Lee, to see if I was crying, and, though I wasn’t, I was certainly near to tears each time. It really hit the sweet spot of making us feel something without being a total cry fest.
The acting was pretty good, with some actors giving more stellar performances than others. Jeff Bridges was, of course, one of the better ones. Though it was a bit cheesy at times, his straight-faced delivery of most of his lines was entertaining and really captured the gruffness of “the Giver” from the book. Imagine a man who knows all of the beauty and horrors of the world and has no one with whom to share them, burdened and alienated by his knowledge. That was Jeff Bridges.
Though the head of the council was not a big role in the book, when a big name like Meryl Streep has been cast, necessity calls for more screen time, and Meryl Streep made it worth the deviation. She did her best with her improvised role, and, though she came off as more harsh than her character in the book, she added rather than subtracted to the the overall effect of the movie. Katie Holmes was much the same. Although her character was much more present in the books than Streep’s, she also came across a bit more emotional than her literary counterpart. However, she really delivered.
The real winners in making the film were the art directors, however. The transitions between the gray world of the average citizens and the rich, colorful world of Jonas and the Giver was seamless and wonderful. They did a great job of translating that effect from page to screen. It was especially lovely when Jonas was only first beginning to see color, and all the world was gray except the red tones.
What We Didn’t Like:
There were a lot of changes between the book and the movie, especially in terms of the character’s roles in the society. The worst bit, however, was the emotion. Most of the characters were displaying far too much emotion. Asher, for example, was seemingly jealous of Jonas’s budding relationship with Fiona. There should have been no basis for that, however. He would not have felt any desire of his own to be with Fiona. He would also not have been angered by Jonas’s rule breaking. Neither, for that matter, would Jonas’s mother. Yes, she was high up in the enforcement department, but misbehavior was simply corrected with cool detachment rather than anger.
Summary
Though there were some very significant changes from the book, The Giver captured the spirit of the classic. It was really decently handled and a solid film overall.
User Review
( votes)Images Courtesy of IMDB
I am a bit eager to watch this movie. I have not read the book, but the previews of this movie have my attention. Thanks for another detailed review. (I love the way you do your movie reviews. I always add how a movie relates to my life when I watch them or something along those lines in most of my movie reviews.)