He is tasked to train his successor, who proves to be vastly changed by what he learns. One person, the Receiver, is allowed to remember. Based on the novel of the same name, the film finds a futuristic society which can either be seen as a utopia, for the less imagined, or rightly a dystopia-where emotions are surprised, conformity rules, and memories lost. It's a film that's both hard to watch and yet hard not to like, at least on some levels. The Bottom Line, the book is a Sci-Fi lovers dream, while the movie is a lot different in order to attract a more mainstream audience, the power and genius of the story remains, and for that The Giver joins our list of must see movies!Ī great concept with poor execution and inconsistent acting, The Giver is a frustrating film. The passion and charisma he portrays was absolutely infectious and helped carry the film through even the slowest parts. Aside from his tremendous good looks, Thwaites portrayal of a teenager with the fate of the world on his shoulders is better than even that of Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games.

Even with all the star power, far an away the best performance in this film is given by Brenton Thwaites, a British actor I'd never seen before. At this point, I'm really convinced that there isn't a role she can't play successfully. Meryl Streep also partakes in this magical film, playing the settlements leader, and she is every bit as chilling and suspenseful as the character in the book. Once Jonas learns the truth, he must decide to do the job of The Giver or reveal the truth, in the hopes of bringing back individuality, but at what cost? Originally producers wanted Lloyd Bridges to play the Giver, when he passed, his son took on the role, and while he doesn't fit the mold of an elder statesman, he was still amazing. At the choosing ceremony, a young teenager named Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) is chosen. The Giver however is old and must train a replacement. The Giver is the historian, who keeps the memory of what life used to be like, so that society never forgets that what it's gained far outweighs the cost. With all that society has gained, it has lost the ability to exercise individuality and free thought, this effects everyone except for one, The Giver.

Studio, cast delays, and re-writes held the film up for more than a decade, but in 2014 it was released and it is spectacular! In the not so distant future, on top of a mountain, lays a futurist society in which pain, war, and disease has been eliminated at a huge cost. Almost immediately after it's release, talk of turning The Giver into a feature film began, but turning a complex science fiction story into something general audiences could enjoy was a big issue. It was the Nebula award winning novel that took the science fiction world by storm.

In the book the giver