THE GIVER

The Giver is a 2014 sci-fi thriller in the vein of Logan’s Run. A future dystopian society exists as the result of a catastrophic event referred to as The Ruin. Society has now removed emotion from the populace and individual jobs and purposes are all predetermined by a panel of Elders who oversee civilization. Babies are genetically manufactured and sexual desire is suppressed through daily chemical treatments that people accept as being in their best interest.

A group of teenagers attend their graduation and wait to hear what occupations they will be assigned. Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) is skipped and after all other teens are given their assignments, the Chief Elder (Meryl Streep) informs Jonas that he has been selected for the rare and privileged assignment as the next Receiver of Memory. As the Receiver, he will be extended knowledge and information about civilization’s past from his predecessor, now referred to as The Giver (Jeff Bridges).

As Jonas is rapidly exposed to all the facets of human emotions, he begins to believe that all the efforts of The Elders are not what is best for society. He stops taking his daily suppression meds and embarks on a mission to try and open the eyes of his family and friends. His efforts are seen as hostile by the Chief Elder and she retaliates by trying to eliminate him.

Thwaites is a fine actor whom I've always enjoyed and he captures Jonas impeccably. Alexander Skarsgard is great as Jonas’s conflicted father. Katie Holmes plays Jonas’s mother, and I felt the same about her here as I do any other film she is in, which is “meh”. Streep and Bridges inhabit their roles perfectly. Cameron Monahgan, who is an outstanding actor, does what he can with his small role.

There is a lot to enjoy with this film. The premise is an interesting one, and the way the film uses black-and-white and color to convey complacency and knowledge is inspiring. I enjoyed this film very much, but sadly I enjoyed it more for what it could have been rather than for what it was. After Jonas leaves the confines of his Community and escapes into The Elsewhere, the story veers off track and the timelines of what is simultaneously occurring in The Community and in The Elsewhere don’t mesh. I’m certainly glad that I’ve seen the film, and aspects of it were really great, but it should have been better.