Review of The Giver (2014) by Dannyg — 08 Nov 2014
Do Yourself A Big Favor! Listen to the Audiobook Read By Ron Rifkin, Instead!
"A" for effort! "F" for outcome! Wow! What a huge disappointment. The story I heard on audiobook was gut-wrenching and incredibly powerful. The film, on the other hand, had so many goofy plot holes you could drive a tractor trailer through them! I realize this is not an easy story to adapt to the screen; but then don't do it if ya can't do it right!
What a waste of acting talent! Yikes! Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep did their heroic best. But it just didn't come together! This is the kind of story that would be better done by less well known actors because I can only imagine how much pressure must have been put on the producer and director to dumb down the story to make it commercially viable. Lets face it, sometimes art and and capitalism simply don't mix!
The philosophy behind The Giver reminds me of a famous dictum by none other than Buddha himself. To summarize: Avoid all extremes. Life is neither black or white, but an endless variety of other colors. Don't become evil - or do evil - to prevent evil. Find the middle way. The world of the Giver is about living life grossly out of balance.
This review of The Giver (2014) was written by Dannyg on 08 Nov 2014.
The Giver has generally received mixed reviews.
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