Unexpected dystopian tale proves touching…
The Giver is yes, another form of The Hunger Games and Divergent. But don’t be off-put by that as has its own story to tell.
In this dystopian tale, it is much connected and blatant towards real life event. It’s particularly unique as the book was written in the 90’s and still manages to resonate well today.
The society in the film have attempted to rid of today’s events by creating ‘sameness’, putting individuals into their own communities (yes, think the fractions in Divergent) complete with early morning injections, and sticking to the rules. The films society has eradicated all that is human.. including love, sweet love!
But Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) is different, he is the receiver who is special enough to receive the memories of the past. To give him these past memories, is yes the Giver (played by Jeff Bridges) who passes on his knowledge of the old world. Jonas then realises that his supposed utopian world is far more evil than what has past.
Visually, the films quite symbolic as it goes all out by transitioning from black and white to colour. It can get quite annoying though, as it jumps back and forth. When colour finally appears on screen, you feel relieved as we as audiences have grown accustomed to the colourful modern film.
The Giver also managed to land a star-studded cast with stunning performances from Meryl Streep who plays the resistant Chief Elder, along with Katie Holmes as Jonas’s mother and both central actors of the film, Brenton Thwaites (Jonas) and Jeff Bridges (The Giver).
Taylor Swift also makes a little cameo in the film, playing the receiver before Jonas. She deserved a bigger part though, as she seemed quite under utilised considering she also had her own poster for the film.
VERDICT: While the film’s material may seem a little too similar to recent young-adult dystopian films, The Giver has it’s own story to tell. A story that connects to audiences on a universally human level, as it comments on human life by inspiring a resistance to becoming zombies.
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