"When people are given the freedom to choose. They choose wrong".
In the future, dystopian societies called "Communities" emerged, with strict rules revolving around injections taking away all color, emotion, and many other things. On graduation day, 16-year old Jonas (Brendon Thwaites) is assigned to be the next Receiver of Memory. Visiting the former Receiver of Memory (Jeff Bridges), Jonas is immediately given memories of the past such as sledding down a hill, experiencing color and light. But at the same time, he also experiences pain, war, and loss. Trying to balance out these things, Jonas skips his morning injections for weeks to try and see the world through the Receiver's eyes. Will he be able to perhaps change his world? Or will the curtains be pulled down on him?
The cinematography and direction by Phillip Noyce is very interestingly well-done. The black-and-white and color combination of filmography is terrific. The use of flashbacks combined with holographic memory is also superb. And they are positioned in the film well enough to help those not too familiar with the book understand the importance of Jonas' role in the film. It also helps me stay at the edge of my seat. Some of the backgrounds are beautiful too.
The acting is great across the board, but the more experienced ones do have generally stronger performances. Bridges fits almost perfectly into the role of The Giver, bringing gruff, grit, and emotion to his role. Oscar-winner Meryl Streep also is fantastic as the Chief Elder, with enough strictness and fairness to make her character's role and purpose believable. Odeya Rush does good as Fiona, with her strongest dialogue coming towards the end. For just the couple of brief scenes she's in, Taylor Swift does a great job bringing meaning to the role of Rosemary. Brandon Thwaities, who does a convincing American accent (he's Australian), has some strong scenes, but doesn't deliver the dialogue as well as some others. The weakest performances came from Katie Holmes and Alexander Skarsgard, who do fine but their interesting tones seem a little more weird than believable.
Marco Beltrami's music score is sweeping and well-composed. The visual effects, from spaceships to the digital/futuristic outlook of the community is interestingly-depicted and feel like a mixture of the worlds of Tron and Power Rangers. Some of the costume design is also interestingly-done. The film is also the right length, without ever feeling overly-long or too fast-paced.
On the downside, I didn't find much issue. I think the opening is a little too simplistic, and some of the movie can feel just a tad weird or hard-to-digest at times (the movie does hit on some interestingly mature themes).
The book isn't exactly followed in spots either, with a few things added to enable the shorter running time.
The Giver was a book I read in 10th grade. It was weird, sophisticated, and yet an interesting read. I didn't think a movie would happen, but here we are. When I heard of some of the casting, I became very excited. But at the same time, I was concerned as to if the true spirit of the book and its thought-provoking themes would be brought to life the right way.
And honestly, the movie takes some creatively different approaches. The characters are older (Jonas is 12 in the book, not 16). The Chief Elder's role is expanded from when she was only mentioned in 1 chapter. The way The Giver handles memories with his apprentice is a little more different in the book than what the movie presents it as. And, the futuristic environment is somewhat different here than the way the book portrays it.
But, what made The Giver an interesting read was the intriguing and thought-provoking themes. And those same themes and questions of sorts are brought to life here in the best way possible. The story stresses what would happen if our freedom and "freedom of choice" was taken away. It lets us know of the importance of a free will, and clearly lets us ponder the importance of life, memories, family, and individuality.
Is it easy to watch? Not exactly. Themes such as war, pain, and death (through euthanasia), while discreetly handled, are not fun things to see on screen. But they serve their purpose in a story that's meant to have us sympathize with both sides of the conflict. And it does have a happy ending (though like the book, a cliffhanger ending at that).
These interesting topics, plus some truly brilliant production values make this rendition of The Giver a near-modern-day classic. A sci-fi flick done right, coming close to the likes of Spy Kids, E.T. and Star Wars.
Score: 9.0/10
Content Problems Families Should Be Aware Of
Language: None.
Adult Content: Jonas and Fiona kiss twice. (it is interesting to note that the rules say its impolite to touch anyone outside of someone's family unit).
Violence: A brief snippet of war violence has very little blood but is still intense. People are fired at with machine guns and fall dead. An elephant is shot dead. A couple of other scenes involve a real sense of peril (Jonas being dropped down a waterfall, falling off an edge). A baby is killed through euthanasia (having a needle stuck through its' head), and another character is nearly euthanised.
Alcohol/Drugs: Some medicinal drugs/injections, but these are portrayed in a negative context.
Other: The idea of death and euthanasia will be a tough one for some to handle. Jonas' breaking of authority should provoke some discussion.
