"The Giver" Review

Phillip Noyce directs The Giver, based on the Newberry Medal-winning book by Lois Lowry, with style and grace. The film possesses the appropriate visual flair, but save for a handful of acting performances, the rest of the production falls flat. In 2014, the story just doesn't translate well from page to screen. If this had come out 15 or 20 years ago, The Giver may be considered a landmark in young adult / science fiction storytelling much like its original source material was.

Everyone who read the book in 8th grade might remember a handful of things about The Giver. It follows Jonas (Brenton Thwaites), a boy who lives in a utopian society devoid of color or emotion. There are no feelings of jealousy or hatred; no war, crime, poverty, love, or joy.

Now here's where the creative liberties really set in. In the film, Jonas is about 18 years old instead of 12. At that age, kids are selected for their careers within society. Jonas is chosen to inherit the position of "receiver of memory." Every day, he trains with a mysterious community elder called "the giver" (Jeff Bridges) who lives in a strange dwelling on the edge of the city. Through his training, Jonas learns what life was like before "sameness." Perhaps the story's greatest strength is how he grapples with the weight of these emotions and memories.

What kinda sucks about the movie is that they give Jonas a 17-year-old Mila Kunis lookalike (Odeya Rush) to serve as the object of his affections, once he finally learns what those feelings mean. He implores this girl, Fiona, to come with him and the baby Gabriel as they attempt to escape to the "boundary of memory." The screenwriters essentially turn the third act into a rousing, mildly violent, prison escape piece which definitely isn't what the book is about. I guess they had to do something to make the latter part of the story cinematically engaging.

Meryl Streep stars as the Chief Elder; an actress who can typically set her films apart from the competition singlehandedly. Even with the equally incomparable Bridges at her side, Streep's performance isn't quite enough to distinguish The Giver from the Hunger Games and Divergent movies of today. However she proves to be a rather menacing blockbuster villain.

On the whole, the movie's liberties are inconsolable despite strong performances and satisfying visuals. Count me out if they decide to make Gathering Blue.

D+