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Rating: 2 out of 5
My mom got me reading some books off of PBS Great American top 100 book list. I have read a few of the books, but for some odd reason, The Giver by Lois Lowry caught my eye. I don’t know why it did. It had an old man on the cover, and I knew nothing about the book. One should never judge a book by its cover. I decided to use one of my audible credits and listen to the book. The book was very interesting to listen to, and the concept of how society had transformed was fascinating. Many dystopian books have some incident happening where the world has changed. What would you do in a world without emotions?
Directed by Phillip Noyce, the film is based on the novel of the same thing. After the world was ruined by what is referred to as “the Ruin,” society was reorganized. In the new world, any sense of emotions, good or bad, has been suppressed through daily injections. Babies are produced through genetic engineering while sexual desire is completely gone (No sex in the champagne room). Memories of the past are non-existent and held by only one person, the Receiver of Memory, whose job is to shield the rest of the community from emotions. Jonas (Thwaites) was raised in society as a loving teenage boy excited to discover his new role. Society is peaceful as their collective memories have been given to the Giver (Bridges) and their emotions suppressed. As Jonas waits for the big day when he is chosen for his new role, his name is skipped over at the ceremony. Thinking that he is a failure, The Chief Elder (Streep) lets Jonas know he has been chosen as the new Giver. As Jonas learns the meaning and actual role of the Giver, his world is suddenly changed for the better and worse. Jonas has a choice of receiving more memories or leaving to change the world.
The Giver is one of those films that many teen dystopian films deal with needing to be better or lacking any of the feel or what made the book great. The movie tried and had a few nice elements to give people imagery, but it needed more of what the book did. Actually, it took out many specific areas of the book and tried to have the leader as a villain.
As stated in the opening, after shit had hit the fan, society was reorganized. In it, any sense of emotions, good or bad, was stripped from people by taking pills or shots. I can’t remember what way they took away emotions. To have a baby, it is through genetic engineering, and many of the babies don’t end up with their families. It was messed up. The story revolves around Jonas and his time with the Giver and receiving all the emotions in the world from the past. You don’t know how long society has been this way. Jonas is a bright-eyed person excited to learn his new role in society, and the Giver is an old man who seemed to see many freakin moons. The story showed Jonas trying to obtain the memories of the past and how the world looked. You never know where the memories came from, but The Giver started with the nice ones. As time progressed, he began to show the horrors of war and even the last person who tried to be the Giver.
The film tried to show the emotional change Jonas was going through and the Giver’s guilt. As Jonas started receiving memories, he began to see the world in a new but different way. He started questioning love and whether anyone realized what was fun. The more memories he received, the more he rebelled against society. Now, it makes you question why the leader tried to restrict him as she had to know what was happening, or maybe she forgot. The Giver started to remember the last person who was selected, who was actually his daughter. I don’t think she was his daughter in the book, but as the memories leave the Giver, he starts to feel for Jonas. During his time, they both decided that the best way for society to get better is to have Jonas escape for all emotions to be released. Like in the book, this is set up with Jonas looking after the baby in his home and learning what happens to babies when they are not worthy of being in society. It is pretty brutal. If you have seen the film, 300, think back to the beginning scene with the babies.
Where the story really gets off track for me, and even the book, is when Jonas is having his emotional breakdowns. The Chief Elder does not like what she sees. She questions the Giver, along with keeping a close eye on Jonas. She even recruits Asher to stop Jonas at all costs. She manipulates Asher into trying to bring down his friend. Asher takes the bait and becomes angry with Jonas as he tries to leave. It got confusing because people showed emotion when they shouldn’t. Obviously, the drugs weren’t working too well. Even though there was a love element to the film, I can’t remember in the book if Fionan went that far with kissing Jonas or helping him leave.
What I like about the film is it has what I call the Wizard of Oz effect. It started off as black and white and really displayed the world of Sameness. Everything is grey and boring as hell. As Jonas starts receiving memories, he begins to see colors, and the world opens to him. Fiona is beautiful, by the way, with her bright eyes, but the world seems utterly different with colors. What I like about how the film showed the changes were subtle. First, it was an apple becoming red or Finona’s hair color showing. It is one of the highlights of the film.
As far as the acting goes, it was meh. It has two Academy Award winners, and it fell flat. First, Jeff Bridges, as the Giver, was pretty good. I actually enjoyed his performance. He seemed cold and distant, but as he got to know Jonas, he became a friend and really wanted society to change. It just felt like he was performing one way and everyone else another.
Next, I want to talk about the Queen herself, Meryl Streep. I think Streep is one of the best actresses of all time. She is honestly the G.O.A.T., and I want her to win two more Academy Awards to officially have the most. In this film, as the Chief Elder, you can tell Streep was on another level, and I didn’t like her as a villain. I understand why they needed her as one, but Streep is too good. It was the same problem as Winslet in the Divergent series. You just know exceptional talent over a less-than-great film.
For Brenton Thwaites as Jonas, he did a decent job. He showed Jonas as the curious 18-year-old whose world suddenly changes when he is chosen as the new Giver. He is full of life but naive about things. When Jonas starts receiving memories, Thwaites really shows the internal battle that Jonas goes through as he sees a new world that his family is lost to.
The Giver is one of those young dystopian films that is okay to watch but won’t wow you at all. The book is by far better. It is a film that makes changes from the book but fails dramatically. The changes from grey to color are interesting to watch as Jonas gains more memories. The acting is okay by the main cast, but ultimately, they can’t make this film into a great movie. The Giver is decent if you need a young dystopian book to add while watching.
