Greetings again! A double dose of reviews this Saturday afternoon, as I am admittedly playing “catch-up” with another recent theatrical release that I was finally able to catch this morning! Another genre that continues to make its presence known, and I know I have indicated this on other reviews of films encompassed within it, is the Young Adult fiction book adaptions. With so many since the ones that REALLY made the trend begin, “Twilight” and “The Hunger Games”, film audiences have been decidedly varied on determining and/or contributing to the box office success (or failure) of many others over the last several years. Therefore, with this in mind, I present my review of the newest entry into the mix, “The Giver”.
Brought to life by director Phillip Noyce, who has provided us some solid films over his long career including “Patriot Games“, “Clear & Present Danger“, & “The Saint” among many others, the film is based on the much lauded novel by Lois Lowry, and introduces is to….the perfect society. Having been formed after an event only briefly indicated as “The Ruin”, the world the human populace exists in has been created as an idyllic Eden….no pain, war, suffering….or choice. Thriving on an atmosphere of “sameness”, and determined by a ruling council of elders, every person has their set place, home, and job, at a set time in their lives, until being released to a place called “Elsewhere”. And…everything has no color, people seeing only the black & white hues around them. And there are also the daily injections taken every day as they leave their homes…..medicine to keep them healthy. As a final aspect, there is only so far one could travel outside of the communities that make up this seemingly perfect place, for to go beyond “The Edge” has never proven fruitful for anyone. In the midst of this is Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) and his two best friends, Asher (Cameron Monaghan) and Fiona (Odeya Rush), all of whom are at the age where they are about to be given the position they will serve in for the rest of their lives. While Asher is somewhat a trouble maker and Fiona is the straight-laced, gentle, and kind one, Jonas has always had an ability to see beyond the surface of things. While he is unable to describe or truly understand it, it has more than once caused him to see the world around him so differently that he begins to wonder about the way things are in their perfect world. His parents, Father (Alexander Skarsgard), Mother (Katie Holmes), and his little sister, Lilly (Emma Tremblay) all follow the same routine as everyone else, Father being a head medical technician and Mother a member of the Justice council, and Lilly simply being a part of the Nines (their age) as she heads towards the eventuality of the placing ceremony. This day comes for Jonas and his friends, all at the leading of the Chief Elder (Meryl Streep), who assigns to each their future positions. The only surprise….Jonas is chosen to be the Receiver of Memory for the society, requiring him to train with a reclusive member of the ruling body, The Giver (Jeff Bridges) who lives in an isolated home right on ‘The Edge”. It is here that everything Jonas has come to believe about the world they inhabit comes crashing down, as The Giver passes along memories of a decidedly different world, the “real” world….complete with all the things they DON’T have and much more. As these elements are introduced to Jonas, the shock and revelation catapult him into questioning his entire purpose and the future of not only himself, but Fiona, Asher and everyone else who do not even realize the depth of deception they are all under. And when circumstances involving The Giver’s account of the previous Receiver, Rosemary (Taylor Swift), come to light, the Chief Elder starts prying into what The Giver is showing and teaching him, and a particularly shocking reveal is made, Jonas makes a final choice to do everything he can do to correct things and allow everyone to truly see what the truth REALLY is, even at the cost of those closest to him being put in danger. As you are familiar with, any more details would be spoiler worthy, and, as always, I won’t go there. Thus, this part is over.
I had the opportunity to read Lowry’s novel earlier this year (thanks, Mom! GREAT reading suggestion!), and I absolutely got swept up in it, reading it in less than two full days (it IS a shorter book as well, mind you). There was just this sense of shock in reading about this “perfect” world these characters resided in, even moreso beyond many of the futuristic worlds told in other books. It was just this creepy sense of having EVERYTHING just chosen for you…no sense of true self, much less NO idea about anything actually REAL even existing beyond that you are TOLD is such or provided to you without any FREEDOM of choice. And seeing this world come to life on the big screen was just as arresting for me as it I would have pictured it in my mind while reading about it. I mean…it really IS a creepy concept! No other way to put it. Thwaites was very much accurate in how he presents Jonas. The sense of having accepted what has been his world for so long and yet as he notices things others cannot, his curiosity leads him down the road to discovery, slow at first, but building exponentially after his training with The Giver. Also, Thwaites brought a real feeling of Jonas’ shock at finding out the things he did, and his urgency to both correct things and help others worked for me. Bridges as The Giver was PERFECT casting as well….he just has that way of lending his very recognizable voice to characters and making them real. Same goes with Streep, who can ALWAYS play someone you really do not like and do it in a either ominous or comedic way. Here, just the emotional disconnect her character has because of the society that was created was very well played. The rest of the supporting cast takes on their roles without issue, but it really IS about Bridges, Thwaites, and Streep on so many levels. Visually, the world of this story could very much remind one of the same setup as “Pleasantville” (even though “The Giver” is a DECIDEDLY better film!), but with a more ominous feel attached to it. And the slow revealing of color to Jonas is well executed, so as not to totally make it all come apart on one HUGE move. Now, as with ANY book adapted to film…there ARE things that were different and/or missing, but this HAS to be expected folks. The age of the children is a big difference, as in the book, they are only 12 years old, as opposed to the teenagers here. But, I honestly feel that was done for the movie more due to some of the thematic elements being dealt with are, frankly, more suited to teens than 12-year olds, even though that was the age in the BOOK that, admittedly, made these themes even more creepy yet engrossing for the tale. I did not at ALL feel this age change took away anything from the story and also felt that this covered the base story and key points very solidly and with enough emotional punch to hit you where it’s meant to. “The Giver” is definitely worth at least one viewing if not more, again, in my opinion.
As always, this is all for YOUR consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
