The Giver - Review (2014)

Meryl and Jeff Bridges are here. looks pretty promosing, I read the book. the book was published before every fantasy Y/A were came. But, when I watched the trailer it looks not that excited. I was thinking it was going to be another flop. And I'm right.

Have you ever dreamed of a perfect world, where there's no racial, ethnic, religious, political conflicts, no violence, no war, no hunger, no pain, no suffering, no tragedy? A world where everything that is needed are all provided for you and no one wants more for anything? I believe that this is the world we all yearn for. What if we could achieve this just by forsaking our feelings, our emotions, our free will and individuality? Is it worth it to deny the extraordinary diversity of human experience, for the sake of peace? This is the premise of The Giver. It's interesting, intelligent, intriguing and thought-provoking at the same time.

Actually, I'm really getting tired of the whole dystopian future theme that has been smothering the movie industry recently. There are so many movies out there that aren't "based" on books, but steal multiple aspects from several books in order to create a genuinely interesting and somewhat original film.



The best example of this I can think of is the movie Equilibrium. Starring Christian Bale (a.k.a. Batman), Equilibrium is like a cross between Fahrenheit 451, The Matrix, and, of course, The Giver. The film didn't receive good ratings because it "stole" ideas, but I find that it takes the best qualities from each source, and has become one of my favorite movies of all time.

Did it differ from the book? Yes. Was it terrible as some die-hard fans are saying? No. It was a good enough movie in its own right, but there were several gaping plot holes. I think critics did not take a chance with this film. For some reason, I enjoyed the film which I think is very underrated but also faulty.

The cinematography is beautiful. the story is expected. but imo, it';s better than Divergent. It's a slow movie. Overall, this was a very well-made film. The cinematography is so clean and crisp. The music is haunting, especially that song over the closing credits by OneRepublic. It is admittedly underwhelming compared to the more action-packed dystopian young adult films so popular nowadays. It is really unfair to compare them that way. "The Giver" has a more mature and serious message to its audience, about what it really means to be a human being with heart and soul. Knowing how to feel and love is the essence of human existence.

This movie is underrated, maybe because too many movies with this kind of story.

My Rating : 7/10

IMDB : 6.7/10

Metacritics : 47/100

Rotten tomatoes : 35%