Review of The Giver (2014) by Kirstie V — 13 Jun 2015

Well, I've never written a movie review before, but this movie was just so awful that I felt the need to rant about it. Yes, I know book to movie adaptations are very difficult. Yes, I know it's difficult to tell a complex story in the short time frame of 2 hours.

However, this in no way justifies the train wreck this movie is. First of all, barely anything that happened in the book happened in the movie. You should at least TRY to keep certain aspects of the movie true to the original story.

But no, Hollywood decided to twist the whole story just to make it "pleasing" to young adults. So much changed to the point where the meaning, the journey, the gravity that pulls you into the story all faded.

What I loved about the book is that it introduced a new type of love. The ones between a father and a daughter and between an elder and a teenager. They developed new platonic bonds, and they were so beautiful and moving.

Apparently, Hollywood didn't find those special bonds satisfactory, so they decided to introduce a mundane relationship into the mix. Jonas and Fiona's relationship was just screen time wasted that should've been used for the more important subplots.

THE WHOLE THEME OF THE BOOK CHANGED IN THE ENTIRE MAKING OF THIS MOVIE. The theme of the book revolved around wisdom vs ignorance, and the strength and courage it took to enlighten others. The movie makers decided to demean the significance of this theme, and introduce the theme of good vs evil, which we see all too much.

The book was unique and beautiful and the movie makers transformed this beautiful story into a typical Hollywood movie. They managed to devalue the meaning of the story and change the plot to the point where it made no coherent sense.

Also, the acting was awful. I don't care if the actors are attractive. Movies are meant to tell stories and if your acting causes the loss of suspension of disbelief, the whole story is practically a joke.

The only reason I watched this movie until the end was because of Meryl Streep's presence. God bless her existence. And God bless this book. But fuck this movie.