Review of The Giver (2014) by Seth S — 28 Jan 2015

Lois Lowry's "The Giver" is a modern classic that I finally read, just recently. The book, fascinating in concept, still felt fractured in the end. I had no expectations for this movie, and I have to say, that lack of expectations was successfully met. I wasn't anticipating the movie to be overly bad or good. I wasn't disappointed.

Directed by Philip Noyce, this adaption plays out almost exactly as I expected it would. There's little in the way of surprises, and sadly, there's also little in the way of passion. It feels like the entire production was shopped out to people who didn't have a strong desire to see this story on screen. They successfully go through the motions of making a modern YA adaption, and in turn, lose some key elements that made the book interesting.

Biggest and most telling of all, the characters ages are changed. This might not seem like a big deal, but it completely alters the dynamic of the story. A twelve year old going through Jonas' struggle is entirely more compelling than a sixteen year old. But, in an attempt to adhere to the popular Young Adult formula, his age is changed. It's disappointing.

The actors, for the most part, give it their best go. Brenton Thwaites, while undoubtably being too old, is usable as Jonas. Jeff Bridges gives the most committed performance as The Giver - you can tell that this is his passion project. Meryl Streep is confoundingly cast as the main villain. But with Kate Winslet and Julianne Moore jumping on the YA adaption train, it's no surprise that Streep would eventually take the plunge.

The production is competent, but largely bland. As Jonas begins to see the world as it really is, there are some nifty uses of color. Montages that could have come off as Nikon commercials actually manage to fit nicely into the story. The production is not poorly done, but it's certainly never impressive in any way.

Still, the main gist of the novel is adequately brought to the screen. The importance of uncensored learning is represented. And The Matrix dilemma, or "if given the opportunity, would we choose to live in a artificial world, if the real world option was less desirable" is presented. Some technicalities are lost in translation, but the core of the story is brought to the screen. And one thing is for the sure, the film definitely has its heart in the right place.

Sadly, even given the fact that the book was written well before the current YA rush, the movie is late to the party. If the source material never existed, I'm sure many would consider The Giver a regurgitated off-shoot of Divergent, when in fact, it's the other way around.

The musical score by Marco Beltrami is restrained, intelligent, and quite beautiful. It only goes for big emotion once or twice, but when it does, it is rather inspiring.

I can't wrap my mind around what makes the original book such a phenomenon. It's good, but I simply wasn't as impressed as most. That said, it's certainly a story more suited for literature. The Giver is not unsuccessfully brought to the screen, it's simply a lackluster and fairly forgettable cinematic experience.

"You have the courage. Let me give you the strength." 6/10.