Review of The Giver (2014) by Cameron J — 25 Jan 2015

For the first half of the movie things are really interesting, with a well-designed world replete with great set design & costumes, and some great performances from everyone, especially Jeff Bridges as the titular Giver.

But things take a downturn once the film diverts into the typical young adult dystopian cliches of love stories and chase scenes - well made but they don't feel like they've been earned. Mix that with some rushed montages and a lack of development of the emotions felt by Jonas as he receives the memories and the relationship between him and the Giver, and you get a passable but average dystopian movie.

A lot of stuff will resonate with people like me who read the book, but I feel a lot of it will go over the heads of everyone else as more boring dystopian teen hero codswallop.