By: Kevin Enners
In a seemingly perfect community – one without war, poverty, pain or suffering – a boy is taught by an elderly man, whose knowledge makes him question his way of life.
Based on the 2001 novel by Lois Lowry, “The Giver” takes place in a colorless dystopian society where only a chosen few have memories. Portrayed by Meryl Streep, the imposing, powerful chief elder recognizes the boy, Jonas, has certain attributes which nobody else possesses and appoints him as Keeper of Identities – the one who is endowed with all identities within the society.
To undertake this role, Jonas must train with the current Keeper of Identities, played by Jeff Bridges. Through a series of physical and psychic bonding sessions, Jonas experiences fond memories of the Giver, but also endures other more painful memories that haunt the Giver. Jonas’ world evolves as his black and white world breaks into colors – light and dark.
At first, the memories from the Giver’s past are vibrant with happiness and love. Think back to your first memory, your first crush or the first time you rode a sled. Jonas’ mentor reconciles fond memories of his childhood and rekindles past feelings of belonging, singing songs, and sledding down snow-covered hills. Happiness and love are the first two feelings Jonas learns. “I like the feeling of love,” Jonas says. He begins to have feelings for a girl in his community named Fiona.
During these sessions, Jonas must keep every feeling inside him and withhold them from the others in the community. This becomes hard for Jonas as his relationship with Fiona blossoms. He is bursting at the seams to show how he feels about her. Unable to suppress them any longer, Jonas breaks the rule and falls in love with Fiona and becomes emotionally-attached to a new member of his family named Gabe, setting off a chain-reaction of events. Jonas makes a second mistake by sharing his visions with Gabe because, in many ways, Gabe is pure and belongs outside the community.
The film did a brilliant job following Lois Lowry’s award-winning masterpiece, reconstructing scenes directly from the novel. The cinematography perfectly aligned with each other, building up with the fine-tuned storyline. The film stimulates your senses. It hooks you!
“Up until the last 20 minutes, director Noyce does a beautiful job weaving this story together, chronicling Jonas’ discovery of emotions and the world around him, and exploring his relationship withthe Giver,” said David Blaustien, entertainment correspondent for ABC News. “But the ending? I cannot blame Noyce for that. The writing and plot becomes so trite and predictable that by the time it ends, ‘The Giver’ is wrapped in a neatly tied, feel-good bow. The only thing that could’ve made it more treacly is if it had ended with a Christmas carol.”
I could not agree more with Blaustien’s thoughts here. He has a valid point about the film’s predictability. But we are not talking about a regurgitated cloak and dagger plot. “The Giver” goes deeper. It is a marvelous story that is driven by emotion and takes a more philosophical turn that most films shy away from these days.
