Some notable names are in that list. Which likely ensures The Giver will be a box-office success, along with the high-level of popularity from the book itself. The film received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics.
I can’t really say why I decided to see The Giver. I didn’t make any plans to do this, but basically, my older brothers were visiting, and so we chose this film over Expendables 3 and Into the Storm. (I have already seen and reviewed Guardians of the Galaxy and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.) I can’t say that I was necessarily excited for the film. The trailers definitely played up similar elements to other young-adult films that have been released in recent months. Which is one of the criticisms a lot pointed out about the film. Personally, from my side of things, I didn’t think it borrowed many elements, and although I haven’t read the book, my older brother comments that it carries a lot of the important elements.
Similar to Equilibrium, the film works to bring elements sameness into fruition through bland and dreary minimalist cinematography. In other-words, there’s a lot of gray to symbolize sameness, and splashes of color to symbolize emotion coming out.
The Giver does this well.
We have seen this before, I mean, we’ll be seeing a similar one from Sin City: A Dame to Kill For later this month, but that’s pulling at straws. It is definitely a familiar element, however. A good one though, and I think that it is done mostly well. I like seeing filmmakers try to enhance their story through non-conventional means.
Aside from the moments with him, I will say that certain themes can come off as bland and/or dull at times. That’s the point, but even if it’s intentional, it doesn’t make the elements any less dull. I think there were more opportunities for humor. Or at the least, more visually striking depictions of how different it has become. A scene with Jonas’ father and an infant really shows the potential they had for dark-humor.
I would’ve loved for them to dig deeper. A run-time of 94 minutes means they had plenty of time to expand on their concepts. More scenes with Jonas and The Giver could have been entertaining. There is a limitless amount of potential with what they could have done. If they would have made it longer, I would have liked more scenes. There’s far too many young-adult films that head over in the two-hour department without means for it, but I feel like this one would’ve had the material to justify it.
Thanks for reading…