Based on Lois Lowry’s book, this highly anticipated film tells the story of a perfect world where everyone is happy. When Jonas is 12-years-old, he’s chosen to be the community’s Receiver of Memories, where he learns about pain, sadness, war and all the unhappy truths of the “real” world. He quickly realizes that his community is fake and faces difficult choices about his own life and his future. KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Willie J. comments, “This film is really quite an achievement. To take such a loved and popular book, with tons of deep ideas and themes, and execute it as a film as wonderfully as Director Philip Noyce and company do, is great.” Samantha A. adds, “This movie is very captivating. I had my eyes glued to the screen the whole time, not wanting to miss a second of the story.”
Willie J., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 15 Full of pretense, theories on life and enough ideas to cause you to rethink your own ideas, The Giver is an intense film about the effects of accepting the good and bad memories of life.
Being a huge Meryl Streep fan (Chief Elder), I was very excited to see her performance, and I was not disappointed. Jeff Bridges’ (The Giver) performance gives this film a veteran presence that adds to the wisdom their characters possess. As for Brenton Thwaites (Jonas) and Odeya Rush (Fiona), their performances show great promise for their careers. Their youth and lack of experience add a sense of naïveté to their characters that beautifully contradicts with the characters played by both Streep and Bridges.
I find the script a bit pretentious but necessarily so. The premise itself is very complex but suitable for the subject matter. What could have been 90 minutes of melodrama turns into brilliant and intelligent conversations, thanks to the skills of the ensemble. I give an Oscar nod for both Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges.
There is a scene towards the end of the film where The Giver and Chief Elder debate on the pros and cons of memories and allowing people to make decisions. That is one of the very best acted scenes I’ve seen this year. The dialogue is so poetic that we’re drawn into the fantasy instead of repulsed by its theatrical nature.
My favorite part of the film, second to Meryl’s performance, is the beautiful cinematography by Ross Emery. Mr. Emery and Editor Barry Alexander Brown really come together wonderfully to create awesome moments of visual storytelling. The mixture of black and white with color, and the short shots of real life events give this film a certain vivacity the book is unable to give.
This film is really quite an achievement. To take such a loved and popular book, with tons of deep ideas and themes, and execute as a film as wonderfully as Director Philip Noyce and company do, is great. I give this film 4 out of 5 stars and really hope you see it. It opens theatrically on August 15. Due to the mature themes and ideas, I recommend this film for ages 14 to 18.
