6.6
In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.
Jeff Bridges
The Giver
Meryl Streep
Chief Elder
Brenton Thwaites
Jonas
Alexander Skarsgård
Father
Katie Holmes
Mother
Odeya Rush
Fiona
Cameron Monaghan
Asher
Taylor Swift
Rosemary
Emma Tremblay
Lily
Alexander Jillings
Gabriel 12 Months
James Jillings
Gabriel 12 Months
Jordan Nicholas Smal
Gabriel 3 Months
Saige Fernandes
Gabriel 6 Months
Renate Stuurman
Dinah
Vanessa Cooke
Elder
John Whiteley
Elder
Kira Wilkinson
Chief Elder's Assistant
Meganne Young
Bride
Thabo Rametsi
Robbie
Vaughn Lucas
Security Officer
Katharina Damm
Nurturer
Jaime Coue
Vietcong Sniper
Jefferson Mays
Community (voice)
Director
Phillip Noyce
Novel
Lois Lowry
Screenplay
Robert B. Weide
Screenplay
Michael Mitnick
November 4, 2014
4
I like this genre of film plus with Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep, I was expecting more. Bridges and Streep deliver top-shelf performances it's just there is not enough of them in the film.
There's a scene where Streep and Bridges get into the conversation of whether free will is worth the hurt and pain that comes with it. It's 10 minutes of acting every one should watch.
The problem is this scene comes near the end of the movie and it's not enough to offset the other 100 minutes of complete blandness. There isn't this sense of dread or tension in the movie at all. There really isn't any sense of drama or pace to the movie and what results is a movie that feels like a late night documentary.
I'm tempted to blame the young actors on drawing the audience in but that's completely fair. The film utilizes the voice of the main character - Jonas - as its narrator. While this is a quick way to give the film its voice, it also diffuses all the drama out of the film. We know that the narrator 'makes it out okay' since he's telling the story.
There are so many themes - free will, destiny, joy, war, hope, emotion vs. rationalism - that completely get overlooked because the narrator is trying to get us through the story instead of just inviting us into the story. As a result, there isn't any tension in the first act to make you care about any of the characters.