'The Giver' Is a Pleasing Entry into a Swollen Dystopia Genre

A film adaptation of Lois Lowry’s great aunt of dystopian teen fiction, THE GIVER, took over two decades and numerous producers to get off the ground. Jeff Bridges (“The Big Lebowski) spearheaded the efforts to bring the “Newbery Award” winning novel to the big screen, and this weekend he finally gets to see all his dedicated effort fulfilled. His dogged determination mirrors the passion of THE GIVER fans who have faithfully loved the trilogy since 1993.

As one of those fans, I have also eagerly anticipated the premiere of Phillip Noyce’s take on THE GIVER. The novel is slight, which offers a film version the rare opportunity to remain fairly faithful to the original text. THE GIVER is a simple story about a colorless world many generations after a brutal war. The leaders of the remaining community have erased any traces of previous human life by controlling how citizens are born, raised, and slotted into the adult world.

Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) is our hero, a young man who has been selected by the community’s council to be the Receiver of Memories. While his peers and friends slip into other community-sanctioned identities like Nurturer (those who look after the test tube babies before they are assigned to families) or Drone Pilot, Jonas’s new role puts him outside the rules and regulations he has always known. His new teacher, a man who goes by the name The Giver (Bridges), opens Jonas’s eyes to the wonderfulness and the tragedy of humans before they were all made to exist in a controlled environment. The story is as emotionally wrought, as it is thoughtful, and makes for a promising movie experience.

Noyce’s decision to show Jonas’s change in perspective through color saturation, especially as his black and white world slowly evolves into vivid hues, is striking. He plays around with the look of the film so masterfully, allowing the beauty of his actors to shine through. Through his teacher’s delivered memories of the world as it once was – full of love and anguish – Jonas starts to see that there is room for humanity again.

Thwaites is not the most expressive actor, but he does supply a blank-faced canvas that is perfectly suited for a character that is constantly searching for more answers. He and Bridges play off each other nicely, but in all honesty who wouldn’t play well with Bridges. He could act with a sock and still make the scenes memorable and stirring.

THE GIVER is far from perfect, and it does lack the high action elements that modern dystopia readers and viewers crave, but it is a respectful adaption of Lowry’s masterpiece. It’s hard to stay if THE GIVER will be a stand-alone or the first of the trilogy to make it as a film, but for what it is worth, THE GIVER is a pleasing entry into a swollen genre.