Released: August 2014
Director: Phillip Noyce
Run Time: 93 Minutes
Rated: PG-13
Cast:
Jeff Bridges: The Giver
Brenton Thwaites: Jonas
Meryl Streep: Chief Elder
Katie Holmes: Mother
Alexander Skarsgard: Father
Odeya Rush: Fiona
Cameron Monaghan: Asher
It seems like today there are a lot of movies based on Young Adult novels like the The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner. Most of these films seem to be centered around dystopian/utopian societies where people are divided into certain classes or categories. They usually take place in a post-World War III world where most governments have collapsed and new leadership has taken over. Reading the synopses for these movies, they all strike me as very similar and have very common themes. When I was in junior high, we were given certain kinds of books to read in English class. To Kill a Mockingbird was one, but the one that stood out for me was a Young Adult book called The Giver. It was written by Lois Lowry back in 1993. I’ve read it only once, and I don’t remember liking it all that much. I was more into Stephen King at that point in my life. There are certain aspects of the book I do remember, but I’ll do discuss those a little later.
The Giver begins in a world without color. There’s no war, no famine, and no hostility of any kind among the citizens. We are introduced to Jonas, a young man who is only days away from graduation and his friends Asher and Fiona. They seem to get along very well, but Jonas begins to see strange things. During the graduation ceremony, each graduate is given a place in society and a job to benefit said society. Jonas is left out until the end when he’s chosen to become the next Receiver of Memory. The Receiver’s job is to keep track of all the memories of the old world to help advise the elders. Jonas is to begin training under the current Receiver and is given rules that are completely of place with the rules of the Community. During his training, Jonas begins to experience the memories of a society that has long since given them up, along with complex emotions and color. He also begins to see a serious problem with the Community. The story presented here is quite good, but it’s not entirely original. It’s been told before in many forms, but the story was never presented to young people the way Lowry presented it.
The themes in The Giver aren’t particularly original, but they are presented in a visual way. The use of color has always been important in film and storytelling. It’s one of those ideas that was presented by Joseph Campbell and it’s just as relevant today as it was 30 or 40 years ago. When The Giver opens, everything is literally devoid of color. The idea of sameness presented in Lois Lowry’s novel was that it would help people ignore the ugly side of human nature. There’s no war, no conflict, and no disobedience. The Giver, both film and book, ask the question of what happens when we give up some of the very things that make us who and what we are. The elimination of emotion by injection, the need for “precise” language and obedience are particularly poignant. Each member of the Community are given specific jobs, certain girls are chosen to be birth mothers while others work in the nursery. Some of the boys become workers and pilots. These people aren’t given the choice to be what they want to be, only what society demands from them, and they seem to be content with that. When Jonas begins to see colors, he begins a transformation that could change everything. I realize that this seems a little metaphysical to a certain degree, but these themes are very important, especially in a story like this. Yeah, the idea of a young man in search of an identity and rising up against an oppressive society has been before. It’s been done better, I can tell you that.
Does that mean that The Giver is a bad movie? Not at all. I haven’t read the book in 15 years, so I couldn’t exactly tell you what the movie got wrong. One of the things that surprised me about The Giver, was how surprisingly non-violent it was. We do see images of violence, but the film is about as far from an action film as you can get, even though the third act seems to head in that direction. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. The performances are pretty decent, even though certain characters are pretty bland, but that’s because the world is bland. When Jonas notices that Fiona’s hair-color has changed, that’s when we start seeing things from his perspective. When we are not focused on Jonas, everything else goes back to black-and-white. I like the use of color in this film, because it doesn’t all pop in at once. No, we see glimpses of it: An apple, Fiona’s eyes and hair, and other parts of the world start to fill in with color. The film changes with Jonas, and his relationship with The Giver gets stronger. Jeff Bridges does a fantastic job as the “Old Man” of the community. Bridges has always been a great actor. Brenton Thwaites as Jonas is amazing. When he begins to experience emotions like love and joy, his face lights ups and he’s extraordinarily happy about it, but when he’s faced with painful memories like war and death his demeanor absolutely changes. I think Thwaites as an actor has great potential, because he really dives into the character and gives Jonas the depth that the character requires. I’ve never been a big fan of Meryl Streep however, I don’t know why. I guess some of the movies I’ve seen her in I wasn’t impressed with. I’m not entirely sure why she’s here, other than to play the obvious villain.
This is not a perfect movie, though. I’ve seen movies like this a million times where one person becomes a rebel against an oppressive government. From Star Wars to The Hunger Games, it’s the same kind of structure that really keeps The Giver from standing out from the crowd. As a result, the story is predictable, especially to those who have read the book. Katie Holmes is just….blah. I’ve never thought much of her as an actress. The look and the feel of the film are just too much like what has already been released. So, The Giver is a little late to the party. Overall, it’s a surprisingly thoughtful and entertaining little picture that could. Some of the performances are a little off-color, but it’s not the worst I’ve seen. The messages and the theme of identity and what it means to be human are surprisingly well thought-out. It’s a visually interesting movie with some great thematic elements. Jeff Bridges and Brenton Thwaites steal the show. They are fantastic. I hope to see Thwaites in more stuff. At the end of the day, I give The Giver a solid 8/10. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s not bad at all.