From the beloved novel, The Giver, by Lois Lowry, the story comes to life on the big screen
Holly Vogtman
Contributing Writer
Summary: The Giver is the fictional story of a future world, past the time of ruin that has rebuilt itself on the idea that sameness, neutrality and strict adherence to the rules keep the community and its occupants safe.
The protagonist of the novel and film adaptation of The Giver, Jonas (Brenton Thwaites), is a young man who is able to “see beyond” the community’s methodical life, and is chosen to become the Receiver of Memory.
Jonas then develops a strong bond with the old Receiver of Memory, The Giver (Jeff Bridges) and together are able to see the world as it used to be, the way we know it to be today.
This film did an excellent job portraying true human struggle and pain. Yet it also reminded its viewers the magic that life can bring along with the warmth human relationships create.
Despite its vital and touching message, the film adaption of The Giver carried many flaws regarding its adherence to the novel and few weak casting decisions.
Beginning within the first few minutes of the film, it was clear that the movie had taken full cinematic license and strayed far beyond many basic aspects of the novel.
The movie created a full-blown love story between Jonas, and his close friend Fiona (Odeya Rush). The romance, while entertaining and pleasant, took the film in a whole different direction from the original story.
Along with the added romance, many important details from the novel were switched around or completely thrown out. For example, in the novel, Fiona was especially gifted with taking care of the elderly, but the film changed her role into caring for newborn children.
Anyone who is a fan of the novel and remembers its details clearly will be grinding their teeth and shaking their heads during many parts of the film due to these many inconsistencies with Lowry’s original work.
Another dire mistake was the casting of Taylor Swift as Rosemary. While the acting overall was solid on every end, especially from Brenton Thwaites (Jonas) and Jeff Bridges (The Giver), who did excellent jobs bringing their characters to life, there was just no way to take Swift seriously, especially since she had to sing.
With a runtime of only an hour and a half, The Giver went by swiftly and did not have any down time to make it slow.
The Giver is recommended because of its ability to make its viewers remember the good in life. However, it is not regarded too highly because of its major discrepancies with the novel.
2 ½ paws
