The Giver (2014)

            I have very mixed feelings about this film. The Giver is one of my favorite books and I have eagerly awaited the release of the movie. When I saw the first trailer, however, my heart sank, because I knew what kind of movie they were going to make. It was going to be a dystopian action movie, which is so very different from the novel. If the filmmakers were trying to create that kind of movie, than they failed miserably. It was immediately compared to The Hunger Games and Divergent, and since it lacked the excitement that both of those franchises have, The Giver seemed dull. The Giver is not meant to be an action movie in the least. I think it would have been told so much better as a small indie film rather than a blockbuster family film.

            The story felt extremely rushed. I don’t understand why they only had the movie be an hour and half long, when it would have been perfectly acceptable to have a two-hour movie. Then we could have seen more character development and actually cared about the characters. As it was, I could not say that I felt much of anything towards the characters. That also may have to do with the stiff acting. I know that the world the characters live in is cold and lifeless, but that still did not excuse awkward and forced performances of the actors.

            One the other hand, there were moments of the film that I enjoyed very much. I thought that all the “memory” scenes were very well done, as well as the black and white aspect. They captured the essence of the story, which is that life is not worth living if music and color and love are taken away just to make life less complicated. The scene where The Giver shows Jonas music was especially my favorite. In fact, the entire soundtrack was pretty exceptional. I also loved the line that went something like, “They didn’t remove murder, they brought it home; they just called it a different name.” The line also captured the lesson of the book, which is that no matter how perfect a society you create, there will always be flaws. It is impossible to create a perfect world.

It’s for these reasons that I don’t completely shun the film. I understand that it must have been an extremely difficult movie to make, but that doesn’t help me feel any less disappointed at the lackluster attempt at one of my favorite stories.

IMDb rating: 6/10