“When people have the freedom to choose, they choose wrong.” – The Chief Elder (Meryl Streep)
August 20th, 2014: On any given day we are bombarded by the ills of society. Social, environmental, economic and political injustices are ubiquitous on this big blue marble. The predatory nature of man will insure that all these injustices will continue to flourish unabated. But, what if we could press the reset button and create a future world devoid of these historical short comings through suppression of memory, choice and emotion? This forms part of the narrative that taps the ethical and moral concepts at the heart of the Sci-fi allegory, “The Giver”.
From a post-apocalyptic community founded on “sameness.”, a new unnamed utopian society with no fixed address shall rise. A society predicated on strict rules of conformity and “precision of language”. This heavily medicated community run by elders established a highly regulated and structured landscape of monochromatic sameness similar to that seen in Michael Bay’s 2005 utopian vision, The Island. Free from fear, hate, pain, envy and above all emotion, this cloistered community effectively deleted earth’s historical foibles. With the massive boxoffice appeal of dystopian thrillers like The Hunger Games and Divergent, Director Phillip Noyce trips heavy into the heady environs of Lois Lowry’s 1993 acclaimed best-seller The Giver – the latest film tapping this highly lucrative young adult trope.
On the eve of their childhood graduation ceremony, Jonas (newcomer Brenton Thwaites), Asher (Cameron Monaghan) and Fiona (Odeya Rush) talked about what their futures may hold. After their life assignments are given, Jonas was singled out for a special assignment because he alone possesses all four key attributes of Intelligence, Integrity, Courage, and the capacity to See Beyond. Chief Elder (Meryl Streep), caught somewhere between the style stratas of homely house mom and a dowdy hag gives Jonas the hallowed assignment of – next Receiver of Memories. With Jonas’s assignment came special liberties – one of which allows him to lie. At the edge of the community he must consort daily with the Keeper of Memories The Giver (Jeff Bridges), for telepathic lessons about life before sameness. Through greater and greater transferences, Jonas is transported into the middle of memories that no longer exist in society such as snow, sunshine, sunburn, a red sled, a rainbow, hunting elephants, being burned, hunger, a battlefield and much more. This labyrinth of lies gradually exposed Jonas to a utopian community built on a foundation of deceit and falsehood that are delicately woven throughout the narrative. And it is this conflict that soon finds Jonas on the business end of trouble. Caught between conformity and the truth, the pressure to escapes this superficial veil of contentment sends Jonas on a race for his survival and the survival of the community.
Mind-bending futuristic tropes have always held a special spot for me. Similar to the 1997 Kafka-esque thriller GATTACA where genetic engineering was both a marvel and a scourge along with other cautionary tales like Orwell’s 1984, The Giver trades up on themes of state control, euthanasia, infanticide and running fallacies with great consternation. A career encompassing 51 directorial credits to his name, filmmaker Phillip Noyce taps into the disturbing beauty that marries simplicity with subversion. Director of Photography Ross Emery, Costume Designer Diana Cilliers and Production Designer Ed Verreaux’s paired down aesthetic of modernity breathes new life into this utopian landscape with clean architectural clarity devoid of any pomp and circumstance. The editorial decision to shoot the better part of the first 30 minutes of the film in low-contrast black-and-white, with the color red gradually bleeding into the frames as Jonas learns to “see beyond” was a cheeky play that Noyce pulls of brilliantly. Similar to Tom Ford’s monochromatic colour palette in A Single Man that leaches a vibrant red lipstick serving notice to us and the lead character, George Falconer (Colin Firth) that his the dreary existence is about to change.
Verdict: 3.5 out of 5: The long and winding path The Giver has taken to reach the screen is a testament to Jeff Bridges tenacity in bringing Lois Lowry’s 1993 vision to the world. Noyce, better known for spy thrillers like SALT and the Jack Ryan series makes a marked departure from his comfort zone with mixed results. Cinematic trickery aside, this totalitarian groupthink narrative has an understated beauty – still it isn’t without its flaws. The goodwill invested at the front end gets unceremoniously kick to the curb much too soon. Noyce’s steely vision spirals into double vision as the trippy head space he so artfully created in this faux medicated community devolved into a messy globetrotting action sequence that defies human abilities in the final act. As a literal translation, Lois Lowry’s novel could never have taken flight of film. But, through the adaption process, a romantic subplot, strong yet muted acting sequences from Streep and Bridges, and some creative direction, Noyce was able to give The Giver a second chance at life.
In a utopian community, the elimination of conflict will create the greatest problems.
Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama
Country: USA
Language: English
Year: 2014
Director: Phillip Noyce
Producers: Nikki Silver, Jeff Bridges
Screenwriter: Michael Mitnick, Robert B. Wiede
Based on the Novel by: Lois Lowry (1993)
Director of Photography: Ross Emery
Costume Design: Diana Cilliers
Production Designer: Ed Verreaux
Runtime: 94 minutes
Release Date: August 15th, 2014
Website: http://thegiverfilm.com
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Brenton Twaites, Odeya Rush, Alexander Starsgard, Katie Homes, Taylor Swift, Emma Tremblay, Renate Stuurman, Vanessa Cooke.
