REVIEW: The Giver

4/10 - Some books just shouldn't be adapted into movies.

The Giver is a NOVEL that's been a young adult staple for many years. It tells a story a young boy who lives in a world of sameness, who learns that our unique differences need to be valued.

This book is probably not one I ever would have even remembered reading if it wasn't for this film adaptation. If there is one major film trend right now it's Dystopian films, so it makes sense that they would try to cash in on the movie version. On paper The Giver seems like the perfect model for the teen sc-ifi genre. As a movie its a total flop.

I'm not sure I understand how the fantastic cast got roped into such a poor production, but the acting is the only saving grace for this poor excuse for a film. Meryl Streep is pretty fantastic. Katie Holmes commits, Jeff Bridges and Alexander Skarsgard play their parts well. But they should all delete this IMDb listing if they get the chance. The kids in this film are laughable in their roles. The dialogue is dry and uninspired, and story doesn't come close to achieving the depth of ideas that the novel evokes. The special effects were just embarrassing. It's a little bit painful to dig through this movie for a forgettable ending.

In my opinion, the problems they faced came down to a poor script adaptation. Their society is built on sameness and not allowing unique features. With the exception of the protagonists younger sister, none of the characters were in any way memorable. They had no personality, which is a symptom of having no personality. Rules and character motivations just appeared and disappeared without any build up. The guy's two close friends were both kind of annoying and awful. I didn't really care about the mission Jonas goes on because the city didn't seem worth saving.

The Giver isn't a total waste of time. It's a good lesson on how nothing is a sure bet, and sometimes even Meryl Streep isn't fabulous. (Jk, she was still fabulous. Movie was still stinky.)

IMDb - The Giver (6.7)
Wikipedia - The Giver
Rotten Tomatoes - The Giver (35%)
Amazon.ca - The Giver