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.
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