REVIEW: “The Giver”

Hunter Houtzer | Editor-in-Chief

Opening exactly how you’d expect another dystopian-novel-turned-movie to begin,  “The Giver” showcases its ability to use a voice-over, explaining the world-of-the-future and welcoming the audience to an unfamiliar setting.  

There is a society. The voice says that the society is perfect, ideal even—clean streets and residents who are polite to one another —even on Mondays. There is a governing body who keeps it this way, one that  understands the ways the world could be—chaotic, destructive, disorderly—and seeks to prevent it. Not surprising to anyone watching, there is a harsh boundary separating the people and what is aptly named as “elsewhere.”  Nobody asks about this place, as questions are considered rude, and no one is permitted to be rude. Many rules exist because determining rules are the first step in writing a dystopian novel, is it not?

Oh, and everything is in black-and-white, adding to the capture of the imagination is a place where not even colors work the same way.

In order to prevent difference among people, citizens’  ability to see color has been taken away (Through surgery? Incantation? Pure willpower of those governing?  The audience will never know). Color leads to difference; difference leads to hatred; hatred leads to war. For those of you who do not recall sixth grade English, this is called social commentary. This movie is social commentary to reflect on society’s potential if we commit to sameness— a black-and-white, robotic, peaceful society unaware of the pains of death or loss—and the joys of love and happiness.

The male voice-over describes all this during his paragraph-long monologue as he calls into question whether the audience will agree with him or the governing body. The boy doing the voice-over, named Jonah, shows his face (the gorgeous face of actor Brenton Thwaites) to display everything he just said in a redundant run of interactions with other famous actors called in to this movie: Meryl Streep, Jeff Bridges, Katie Holmes—and even Taylor Swift.

The rest of the movie unfurls when Jonah is picked to be the “chosen one.” The unfurling, however, works exactly as you’d expect it to if you’ve ever seen this sort of thing before.

That said, the formula works for a reason. No matter how predictable, and at many times cheesy, the lines may seem, seeing a society without love remains heart-wrenching over and over again. The voiceover is still intriguing by nature if you want to learn about the absurdity of this alternative world. When Jonah begins to truly experience the world, it is easy to feel human and alive—despite being trapped in a cold theatre and being completely aware of what’s right around the corner.