The Giver is a based off of a book written by Lois Lowry published in 1993. I remember reading it in middle school, but don't really remember much about the book other then I enjoyed it. I can not tell you how different the movie is from the book. I do know from what others have said, that there are a fair share of differences. But for the most part people seem to be okay with them.
The idea for the story is a new society that has stripped away emotions and memories of the past. This allows them to easier control the residents and curb crime and violence. Without emotions we don't get angry, we also don't feel jealously and other things that cause issues within people. You are assigned to families, and then you are assigned a job when you are of age. I am guessing you would be assigned a partner to, but I don't recall it going over that. The main character is Jonas and he has been chosen to be "The Giver." The giver is the holder of the memories. They use the knowledge of before to help guide the elders in the choices they make for moving forward. It also gives Jonas a few added perks such as now being able to lie. The current Giver transmits the memories into the new one using super powers it appeared. They looked psychically linked when transmitting. The old giver loses the memory then, which is the one thing I recall from the book. Don't believe the movie touched on that, which made no sense at it added more emotion to certain scenes.
With these new memories, and his returning emotions, Jonas decides his society is a issue. He and the current Giver come up with a plan to return the memories to the people. Nobody stops to think if this is a good idea, and frankly I don't think it was. However they go forward with their plan, and that is what the movie is about. How do they return the memories? Well there are magic towers that create a barrier around the settlement. If the memories leave that barrier, it breaks and everybody gets all the memories. This includes memories of war, murder, and may other violent acts. Imagine a society that has no concept of these. That has jobs where you actually kill people, but you do not understand what you are doing. Imagine if that subject now gains that knowledge. How would they act now knowing they have murdered 100's if not thousands in their lifetime? How about a society that does not feel love or lust. They suddenly know all about lust, and desires. The movie never deals with these types of questions. It just goes, the Giver is correct. Believe in the Giver. And we get a crap ending that does not deal with the part of the story that should have been the most interesting.
Acting was solid all around. Jeff Bridges, Mery Streep, Alexander Skarsgard....you get what you expect here. The lead was played by Brenton Thwaites who was fine. He was never really likable though, and oddly forgettable. Much like he was in Oculus. Did anybody remember he was in that? Does anybody remember anything from that movie other then Karen Gillan? The light-bulb apple, and the scene at the end. Honestly all I can remember about that movie is her doing crazy stuff. Odeya Rush played the love interest, and she was also fine. Her character was void of emotions most of the movie. She played that rather well, but never really got a chance to step up and show any ranger. Not her fault, just how that role was written.
Interesting story that took off running, only to fall on its face just before the finish line. Good acting by the supporting cast. And Taylor Swift was there for a few moments, Taylor Swift is always a plus in my book. Skarsgard said they would all get together and play piano and sing while drinking after a long day. They should put that on the DVD. The ending left much to be desired, and really seemed to detract from the overall message the film was trying to get across. Somebody told me the Giver is an interesting story that is slightly traffic yet beautiful. I think they meant tragic, but that is a direct quote. I think it was tragic, but it never became beautiful to me. They focused on all the wrong aspects of it. This movie could have told a wonderful story. It just didn't try to be in the end. It was a lazy attempt that lost its focus and only delivered a forgettable experience. I wish I could remember the book better. Or more what I liked about it. Maybe I wasn't as cynical back then. Or maybe the book was just genuinely that much better.
No comments:
Post a Comment