Credible Credits
Year: 2014
Director: Phillip Noyce
Starring: Brenton Thwaites, Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Katie Holmes, and Alexander Skarsgard
Tagline: You Can Make Things Better
Synopsis: In a seemingly perfect world, one young man learns what it truly means to live.
Synopsis: In a seemingly perfect world, one young man learns what it truly means to live.
Review
Yes, I have read the book for this one. But it has been a few years and I don't remember all the details that were different. I never read this as a young adult. Somehow I just missed it I guess. So I don't have the eye-opening attachment to the story that perhaps others do.
In terms of the movie, I was on the fence about seeing it. But having gone in with fairly low expectations, I was rather pleasantly surprised.
For starters, the movie is quite beautifully composed. The world of the "Community" feels very real, and very sterile. Which is exactly how it is supposed to feel to the audience. The film makes excellent use of color. It's not simply black and white versus color. Depending on which characters we are with, the hues have differing saturation. It helps set the tone and feel of the movie. And it is just fun to watch the colors gradually unfold.
Another thing the film did quite well was not shying away from the darker themes the book addressed. It tackled those ideas head on but also with the proper delicacy. While I don't remember many of the details of the book, the themes are what have stuck with me. So it was nice to see the film try to embrace them. The film is both earnest and genuine about its themes of learning what it means to live and being willing to accept pain and heartache in order to know joy and love.
Jeff Bridges does an excellent job as the Giver. He's enjoyable throughout. After seeing him, I can't imagine anyone else in the role. Meryl Streep also completely fits her role as the Chief Elder.
While the film was enjoyable and certainly had the best of intentions, it still had some problems that left me disappointed. First of all, the pacing was problematic. It wasn't a very long movie. But it felt rushed in some areas and sluggish in others. We needed more time easing into the memories with Jonas. When he gets the memory of war all I could think was, "What, already?" Receiving those memories is supposed to be a long, somewhat jarring process. Brenton Thwaites did a good job of embracing the joy of color and music, laughter and dancing. But it felt like he should have been much more conflicted by the contrast of the world he lives in and the memories he's gaining.
The Giver (as a novel) predates nearly all the young adult fare that is so popular these days. And yet it seemed to try to fit in with that crowd. In the book, Jonas and his friends are 12. In the movie they are 18. Much of the tension between Jonas and his friends, Fiona and Asher, is invented for the film. The same goes for most of the climax. The Community is all about "sameness," so it is a pity the film falls prey to the same trap. It felt far too anxious to "fit in" with all the other dystopian, young adult movies. It needed to dare to be unique.
The bigger problem was heavy-handedness. The film didn't trust the audience as much as it should have (and as much as I remember the book did). By the film's climax (the part completely invented for the film), the Giver and the Chief Elder are practically just spouting ideological quotes at each other. Certainly it is straightforward, rather than manipulative, which is good. But it is also simply telling rather than showing. I was told what to think, rather than allowed the time to discover it for myself.
I wanted the film to trust that if it presented me with the "facts" and the "truth" that I would choose for myself which world was better. More than just watching Jonas' journey of discovering joy, music, color, and love, I wanted to go on the same journey. And the film only kind of allowed that. Given that the movie is about the power to choose, that was a major blunder.
The choice presented in both the novel and film is of fundamental importance. It is whether we will taste the bitter to know the sweet; will we endure pain to know joy; will we allow hate in order to embrace love. It is the same choice made by Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden, the first choice made on earth. While we may not be confronted with the choice to the degree Eve or Jonas was, it is a choice every human must come to terms with. Otherwise they'll hop from pleasure to pleasure, never finding joy.
The film had an opportunity to really show how lost humanity would be without the power to choose or the power to truly live. It tried to. It had good intentions about an excellent theme and message. And it partially succeeded. It was an enjoyable film that I'm glad I saw. But I'm more glad I read the book. I want to read it again now.
In terms of the movie, I was on the fence about seeing it. But having gone in with fairly low expectations, I was rather pleasantly surprised.
For starters, the movie is quite beautifully composed. The world of the "Community" feels very real, and very sterile. Which is exactly how it is supposed to feel to the audience. The film makes excellent use of color. It's not simply black and white versus color. Depending on which characters we are with, the hues have differing saturation. It helps set the tone and feel of the movie. And it is just fun to watch the colors gradually unfold.
Another thing the film did quite well was not shying away from the darker themes the book addressed. It tackled those ideas head on but also with the proper delicacy. While I don't remember many of the details of the book, the themes are what have stuck with me. So it was nice to see the film try to embrace them. The film is both earnest and genuine about its themes of learning what it means to live and being willing to accept pain and heartache in order to know joy and love.
Jeff Bridges does an excellent job as the Giver. He's enjoyable throughout. After seeing him, I can't imagine anyone else in the role. Meryl Streep also completely fits her role as the Chief Elder.
While the film was enjoyable and certainly had the best of intentions, it still had some problems that left me disappointed. First of all, the pacing was problematic. It wasn't a very long movie. But it felt rushed in some areas and sluggish in others. We needed more time easing into the memories with Jonas. When he gets the memory of war all I could think was, "What, already?" Receiving those memories is supposed to be a long, somewhat jarring process. Brenton Thwaites did a good job of embracing the joy of color and music, laughter and dancing. But it felt like he should have been much more conflicted by the contrast of the world he lives in and the memories he's gaining.
The Giver (as a novel) predates nearly all the young adult fare that is so popular these days. And yet it seemed to try to fit in with that crowd. In the book, Jonas and his friends are 12. In the movie they are 18. Much of the tension between Jonas and his friends, Fiona and Asher, is invented for the film. The same goes for most of the climax. The Community is all about "sameness," so it is a pity the film falls prey to the same trap. It felt far too anxious to "fit in" with all the other dystopian, young adult movies. It needed to dare to be unique.
The bigger problem was heavy-handedness. The film didn't trust the audience as much as it should have (and as much as I remember the book did). By the film's climax (the part completely invented for the film), the Giver and the Chief Elder are practically just spouting ideological quotes at each other. Certainly it is straightforward, rather than manipulative, which is good. But it is also simply telling rather than showing. I was told what to think, rather than allowed the time to discover it for myself.
I wanted the film to trust that if it presented me with the "facts" and the "truth" that I would choose for myself which world was better. More than just watching Jonas' journey of discovering joy, music, color, and love, I wanted to go on the same journey. And the film only kind of allowed that. Given that the movie is about the power to choose, that was a major blunder.
The choice presented in both the novel and film is of fundamental importance. It is whether we will taste the bitter to know the sweet; will we endure pain to know joy; will we allow hate in order to embrace love. It is the same choice made by Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden, the first choice made on earth. While we may not be confronted with the choice to the degree Eve or Jonas was, it is a choice every human must come to terms with. Otherwise they'll hop from pleasure to pleasure, never finding joy.
The film had an opportunity to really show how lost humanity would be without the power to choose or the power to truly live. It tried to. It had good intentions about an excellent theme and message. And it partially succeeded. It was an enjoyable film that I'm glad I saw. But I'm more glad I read the book. I want to read it again now.
Quotable Quotes
- "A dwelling is not a home. A home is more." -- The Giver
- "Is that the pain everyone talks about?" "Not even close." -- Jonas (after getting the memory of being stung by a bee) and the Giver
- "I apologize." "I accept your apology." -- Pretty much everyone except the Giver
- "We are living a life of shadows, of echoes." -- The Giver
- "I loved her." "Precision of language!" "Couldn't have been more precise." -- The Giver and the Chief Elder
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