Lois Lowry's The Giver was a staple of childhood English classes and reading competition lists. With the recent glut of young adult films, it naturally received an adaptation. Phillip Noyce's movie is competent though holds few surprises.In the future, Earth's rulers (a clique known as The Elders) emphasize Sameness, removing literal color, race and class in a uniform society. Children are assigned jobs at age 16, receive daily sedatives and "precision of language" is ruthlessly enforced (we do not use contractions in this Universe!). Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) apprentices with the Receiver of Memory (Jeff Bridges), who can harness memories of the past. Josiah grows more rebellious, clashing with the Head Elder (Meryl Streep). The Receiver urges caution, remembering his daughter Rosemary (Taylor Swift). Discovering his infant brother's marked for execution, Jonas seeks out the Elsewhere to release memories.
The storyline is Brave New World for kids. Noyce does beautiful work contrasting monochrome reality with Jonas's vivid visions, with color slowly bleeding into reality. It's a neat trick, helped by Noyce's staging of key vignettes like Rosemary's back story or a shockingly casual euthanasia (shades of Soylent Green). Still, The Giver never explains why they need a Receiver of Memory to begin with, aside from requiring a plot. Seems an invitation for those damned kids to ruin everything.
Call it John Carter syndrome: The Giver influenced so many books and movies that its actual adaptation seems derivative. Lowry's book preceded The Hunger Games and Divergent, yet Noyce's movie adds cliches from the YA checklist. Jonas was twelve in the novel but is sixteen in the film; his romance with Fiona (Odeya Rush) is another addition. There's still more ideas than action, but once Jonas rebels against the Elders it turns into another mix of chases and posturing. The ending is more faithful yet feels abrupt, unsatisfying.
Jeff Bridges owns the film, providing both paternal warmth and anguished intensity. Meryl Streep is wasted, with little to do but glower. Brenton Thwaites and Odeya Rush make blandly likeable leads; singer Taylor Swift is more appealing in her brief appearance. Katie Holmes and Alexander Skarsgard play Josiah's parents.
The Giver will appeal to its target audience, but adds little invention to a genre that's rapidly wearing thin. Precision of language! It is neither bad nor good; it achieves Sameness.
