The Giver

I remember when this book came out. I never read it, but I do remember it being a popular book. Now here's the thing, there's a reason why this movie didn't come out until 2014 and it's because 2014 was the height of the Young adult book to movie adaptations that were started by The Hunger Games and someone wanted to take advantage of that with The Giver. I don't know if the book is as YA as the movie makes it out to be, but if it is, this is the OG YA novel and I'm actually a little sad it didn't get at popular as the other movies that have come out recently because it does have a poignant point to make... it just got bogged down by wanting to be the next Hunger Games, which is ironic because it kind of was the first Hunger Games...

The Giver takes place in a future where humanity has seen a horrible "calamity". Because of the calamity, remaining humans band together in communities that are artificially created and all emotion and feelings are not only outlawed but they are expunged from them.

The movie starts off in black and white, to show the view point of our main character Jonas (played by Brenton Thwaites). Him and his friends Fiona (played by Odeya Rush) and Asher (played by Cameron Monaghan). The movie starts right before they are going to go through the process of adulthood and they are going to receive their jobs that they will do for the rest of their lives.

Fiona ends up being a doctor or sorts, Asher becomes a drone pilot but Jonas is given a very strange job because he meets all the qualities that are expected of the people in this community (Divergent much?). He is given the job of receiver of memories and is put under the tutelage of a man called The Giver (played by Jeff Bridges). The job is essentially to be the only one who holds memories of the world they used to live in and advise the elders, the main one played by Meryl Streep, on the mistakes of the past.

As Jonas spends more time with the Giver, he starts to see the beauty, pain, and emotions that make us humans and the lengths this government has gone to squash it out in order to avoid conflict and in order to avoid the pain and calamity of the past.

As far as I understand, the villains in this movie are not exactly villains or corrupt like a President Snow from The Hunger Games, but instead of just bought so far into the system that their ways of thinking can only be changed by them seeing the things that the Giver and Jonas can see.

Oh... and Taylor Swift is in this movie...

I thought I was really going to hate Taylor Swift in this movie and I figured I had pinned down why this movie didn't get the following or acclaim of The Hunger Games and it was all pinned down on Taylor Swift. But she's honestly barely in the movie and the only reason I know she was in the film was because it's Taylor Swift, a famous person who is not an actress and the scenes she is in are not that good. She's incredibly inconsequential to the entire plot. They really could have taken her out entirely and nothing would have changed.

So... put Taylor Swift aside, is this a good movie?

On face value, yes.

It's not a masterpiece and it stinks of trying to be a franchise and trying to ride on the coattails of The Hunger Games, but when it's just trying to emulate the story, a story that I haven't even read the book and I know it's an interesting story, it does a pretty good job at portraying that.

I really wish I had read the book first because I'm pretty sure I'm going to read the book now and just think this movie is a piece of garbage. I'll have to let you know when I do read it, but on face value, this is really not a bad film. It's set in a futuristic world that seems pretty original and just sets itself apart from the rest of the YA films.

I really did like the transition they make from black and white to color to portray the slow progression Jonas goes through as he starts to see the new emotions and feelings. Now I think that the progression could have been show a little more than just color coming into his world, but I really liked it nonetheless.

I think when you think of the cast of this film, its actually not that bad. Except for Taylor Swift... she

wasn't in this movie. Katie Holmes is also in this movie and so is Alexander Skarsgard as Jonas's parents.

When you have Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep, you're really not going to have a bad performance. I know that Jeff Bridges tends to pull out a grumbled mumble a lot of the time but I thought he did a good job with this one. I really liked Jonas and Fiona, I thought that they worked well together.

I don't think the cast and the film was overly exceptional. I think overall, everyone was good. Not great, but good. The movie served a purpose to entertain and make you think a little bit. It's very interesting watching someone like Jonas start to color his reality with the true feelings and facts of life, something he was hidden from. It makes for a good adventure and decent story. Nothing exceptional but not bad either.

I feel like I'm doing really short reviews but honestly when you finish a long review like the one I did for Beauty and the Beast everything feels short. Overall, the Giver is on Netflix. If you're a fan of the book, I'm not sure what you'll think about this film, but if you have never heard of The Giver, and especially if you're a fan of YA films like The Hunger Games, you actually might really like The Giver.

But what did you think? Does The Giver hold up against the other YA movies that their source material received from this story? Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @cmhaugen24 as well as send me your requests for films I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter, you can get updates on future movie news and reviews coming out of this blog.

I'll leave you with this. Again, I'd like to read the original book. Here's a short interview with Lois Lowry the books author. Enjoy!