The Giver

The Giver

Starring Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Brenton Thwaites, Odeya Rush

Directed by Phillip Noyce

Synopsis:
In 2048, after a great war, those who survived have chosen to get rid of races, emotions, feelings and other things that they considered tainted.  They've all had their memories erased, except for the Receiver of Memory (Jeff Bridges), who is the only person in the community who has memories.  He advises the Chief Elder (Meryl Streep) and the other Elders on decisions in the community.

On his graduation day, Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) is given the job of the Receiver of Memory, and receives memories from the Giver (Bridges).  At first he experiences all the things society was good for - friendship, love, dancing, music, and color.  As he experiences these new feelings, he wants to share them with his family and his good friend Fiona (Odeya Rush), but he is instructed not to do so.  Soon Jonas experiences the worst the old world had to offer - war, violence, death, murder.  He doesn't want to be the Receiver anymore, but after a particularly brutal vision he decides he has no choice but to return memories to his community before an unspeakable evil occurs.

Review:
I read the book back in high school, and I don't remember much that happened in it, which I guess is a good thing because the biggest negative people said about the film was how much it didn't follow the book.  Seeing the film totally apart from knowing what happened in the book, I actually enjoyed it a lot, although I could sense that if it was a little bit longer, it would've been great.

The concepts of the film are extremely timely for today's day and age.  Would you choose to have your memories erased for the supposed betterment of society?  To not know about anger, rage, war and murder, but also in the same way not know love, color, music or compassion?  Does the end justify the means?  Would you give up pleasure in order to feel no pain?  Is individuality inherently evil,  or is the true evil conforming?

As far as acting goes, "The Giver" boasts two Oscar winning actors as the leads, and they perform brilliantly, especially Meryl Streep, who could read the phonebook and get an Oscar nomination for it.  As far as the lead role goes, Brenton Thwaites is an excellent choice, not because of his acting ability, but because of his look.  As Jonas experiences all these newfound emotions, discoveries and memories, he has this doe-eyed look of innocence coupled with a deep-seeded desire to know more, and Thwaites has this expression normally, and it shows in his performance here.

As I said earlier, if the film was a little longer and expounded more on Jonas' experiences and his obsession to share it with the community, it would've been an even better experience.  As it was, it seemed to gloss over more important themes to get to the ending, but that's my only real negative I have with the film.  I'm sure if I read the book before seeing the movie I'd have more, but I don't like to compare films to their original books - because nine times out of ten the book would be better.

Summary:
See the movie without any preconceived notions on what you think if you read the book, and you'll probably enjoy it more.

My Rating: A-