The Giver and I go back a long way. The first time I read it I was in 6th grade, and it immediately became one of my all time favorite novels. I must have read it at least two or three times. I have been eagerly awaiting a film adaptation ever since, and now, around thirteen years later my wish has finally been granted.
In The Giver, Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) is a teenager living in a utopian/dystopian post-apocalyptic society where everything seems to be perfect. Everyone is essentially the same, people are assigned the roles they are to play within the society (and are also assigned who they are to live with and which children they will take care of), there is no war, no pain, ....in fact, there are no emotions or memories of the far past at all. When Jonas is assigned the role of receiver of memories, he begins intensive training with The Giver (Jeff Bridges), and he begins to realize that the life he and others have been living may not be so perfect after all. Perhaps it's time for a change.
Brenton Thwaites is pretty perfect as Jonas, the young man who finds that it is up to him to save his society. His reactions to feeling emotions and seeing colors for the first time are pretty spot on, and he makes for a likable protagonist that is very easy to root for. Odeya Rush plays Fiona, one of Jonas' cute childhood friends that later becomes sort of a love interest for our lead. She is absolutely adorable and lovable, and she plays her role convincingly. Meryl Streep plays a good bitch as the Chief Elder, who is essentially our villain for the film (although she's not in it much, she still is pretty good whenever she's on screen). Alexander Skarsgard is pretty great and charming as Jonas' Father, who is tasked with caring for newborns and carrying out mysterious procedures called the releases to Elsewhere. Jeff Bridges is the standout (naturally) as The Giver. He puts on the best performance possible with what he is given to work with, and it's really hard not to completely love his character by the end. Bridges puts a lot of heart and hard work into crafting his character, and it works. For those who cried out in fear when they saw Taylor Swift was in this film, there is no reason to worry. She is only in two very short scenes (and is the subject of one of my favorite lines, which essentially says she doesn't exist anymore.)
The Giver is a film that is exquisitely shot. The first part of the film is black and white, but once Jonas receives the memory of color, different colors start to slowly seep into the film in beautiful ways. The first shot of full color is gorgeous, and from then on out the film is filled with beautiful and sometimes haunting shots (often times switching from color back to black and white, and at times having only a few colors present in a scene). It's definitely a visual feast for the eyes.
Running at a swift 97 minutes, the film never fully digs into the source material's rich depths, but it still manages to present most of the books themes and ideas adequately enough for newcomers. It's filled with emotions, and I especially liked the scenes where Jonas and Fiona discover the feeling of love for the first time (and the joy of a kiss). It's a heart-warming film that is really about how much we would lose if we were to lose our emotions and memories.
While it goes without saying that the novel is far better than this film, The Giver is still the best YA film/adaptation I've seen. While it can be a bit bland at times (what the hell do you expect, this is a society without emotions), this film still manages to get you invested in the cast, make you feel, and even make you think a good deal (dare I say it's a bit cerebral at times). This is a film that's got a message and a meaning, which is more than I can say for any other YA film I've seen thus far. It's beautifully shot, the performances are great, and it's got a good deal of heart too (the scenes with Jonas and Gabriel are just too cute and heart warming). While it's not the perfect adaptation of the novel I was looking for, this film still delivers in all the ways that count. I'd say it's indeed quite memorable.
5 STARS
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