The Giver (2014)
2014
PG-13
94 Minutes
In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.
User Review
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The Giver is a dystopian sci-fi that just never really gives. Another adaptation of a young adult book, and yet another film filled with mediocrity. It's not terrible, it's not good...it's just fine. A "perfect" society living in solitude incapable of feeling emotion, until a young boy is chosen to be "the receiver of memories". This entails exploring humanity's past to which he then soon realises that he is living in a falsified world. It's an intriguing yet superficial premise which details the glorious aspects of the human world and the harsh reality of war, famine etc. An artificial community created to prevent bloodshed and the capability of an imperfect world. Think of it as 'Equilibrium' meets 'Twilight'. There's a dull young romance, monotonous acting and an expositional script, much like the latter film, but with an inventive premise like the former. The production design felt rather clinical, I appreciated the futuristic architecture and dystopian rituals that were included in this paradise. The generational hierarchy was a clear indication towards the acting. Streep and Bridges gave their best with the material given, Holmes and Skarsgard were second best and then we come to Thwaites and Rush who were monotonous much like the monochromatic colour scheme. The colour gradient was put to good use, slowly incorporating pigments as our main character is introduced to memories. Taylor Swift is in it for ten seconds, no idea why. Heck, I didn't even recognise her at first. The script was just bad, filled with exposition and no character development at all. The editing was far too frantic with a concoction of quick cuts. Also the ending...what even was that? Is that really a conclusion? Really? It literally makes no sense. So despite the non-sensical finale, mediocre acting and dull script...it's not all bad. Just wasted potential I guess, but I'm used to that with these young adult adaptations. Might be the first film to use both "giver" and "receiver"...giggity...0 member like this review.
