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The Giver main poster

The Giver

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6.6/10 • 4.4K

2014-08-131h 37m

DramaScience Fiction

Search for truth. Find freedom.

In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.

Directors
Phillip Noyce
Editors
Barry Alexander Brown

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Jeff Bridges

    Jeff Bridges

    The Giver

  2. Meryl Streep

    Meryl Streep

    Chief Elder

  3. Brenton Thwaites

    Brenton Thwaites

    Jonas

  4. Alexander Skarsgård

    Alexander Skarsgård

    Father

  5. Katie Holmes

    Katie Holmes

    Mother

  6. Odeya Rush

    Odeya Rush

    Fiona

  7. Cameron Monaghan

    Cameron Monaghan

    Asher

  8. Taylor Swift

    Taylor Swift

    Rosemary

  9. Emma Tremblay

    Emma Tremblay

    Lily

Reviews2

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Grant English Avatar

Grant English

Nov 4, 2014

3.5/10

I like this genre of film plus with Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep, I was expecting more. Bridges and Streep deliver top-shelf performances it's just there is not enough of them in the film. There's a scene where Streep and Bridges get into the conversation of whether free will is worth the hurt and pain that comes with it. It's 10 minutes of acting every one should watch. The problem is this scene comes near the end of the movie and it's not enough to offset the other 100 minutes of complete blandness. There isn't this sense of dread or tension in the movie at all. There really isn't any sense of drama or pace to the movie and what results is a movie that feels like a late night documentary. I'm tempted to blame the young actors on drawing the audience in but that's completely fair. The film utilizes the voice of the main character - Jonas - as its narrator. While this is a quick way to give the film its voice, it also diffuses all the drama out of the film. We know that the narrator 'makes it out okay' since he's telling the story. There are so many themes - free will, destiny, joy, war, hope, emotion vs. rationalism - that completely get overlooked because the narrator is trying to get us through the story instead of just inviting us into the story. As a result, there isn't any tension in the first act to make you care about any of the characters.

Media

  • The Giver poster
  • The Giver poster
  • The Giver poster
  • The Giver poster
  • The Giver poster
  • The Giver poster
  • The Giver poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
$25,000,000.00
Revenue
$66,980,456.00
Keywords
new lovebased on novel or bookdystopiaanti conformitymemoryalternative realitycolor2040sbased on young adult novel