The Giver Movie is Nothing Like Lois Lowrys Book. Ive covered a lot of young adult book to film adaptations over the years, and Ive always made a point of assessing the film as a standalone entity when writing a formal review but this is not a formal review. Firestarter 2: Rekindled Full Movie In English. Initially, this piece was intended to be a rather straightforward bookfilm comparison, but considering Phillip Noyces The Giver bears almost no resemblance to Lois Lowrys award winning and beloved source material and suffers severely for it, all there is to discuss are differences and the problems they cause. Hit the jump to read about what the film version of The Giver did different or rather, did wrong. This article contains spoilers for both the book and the movie. Theres No World Building. In the book, we get almost nine full chapters of material before Jonas Brenton Thwaites is selected to be the new Receiver of Memory. In the movie, its mere minutes. A personal favorite quality of Lowrys book is the fact that it makes you wonder, What would life be like without color  What if I didnt have the words to describe how Im feeling  What if war didnt exist  However, that reaction just isnt possible for Noyces film because were never given the chance to get acclimated to this strikingly different way of life. Rather than introduce us to Jonas as a person first and then let him guide us through the day to day happenings in the community, Michael Mitnick and Robert B. Weides script lays it all out there via exposition to get it out of the way and then moves forward. Sure, we hear things like going out after a certain hour and imprecise language are not allowed, but thats not the same as feeling the pressure to abide by those rules. In the book, its stressed that pointing out someones differences is considered rude, bragging is a big no no, and taking an apple home from school isnt allowed either. And when someone commits one of those transgressions, they have to pay for it. With the apple for example, Jonas wasnt outright scolded, but he was deeply ashamed when he heard the community wide announcement, Snacks are to be eaten, not hoarded. Its not about what the punishment is, but rather how it makes Jonas feel and thats something we never experience in the film, primarily because it never lets us breathe, digest and understand our new surroundings. Jonas and Co. Are Older In the book, the final ceremony is the Ceremony of the Twelve. Thats when a child is assigned his or her lifelong job, at 1. In the movie, however, Jonas, Fiona and Asher Cameron Monaghan announce that theyve just graduated so now its time for them to get their assignments, suggesting that theyre more likely about 1. This happens and sometimes, theres just no way around it. There are great 1. But the problem with making the kids so much older is that it makes it much harder to come to understand why they dont question their way of life sooner. Sure, they dont have memories of human history, but as you grow and mature, isnt it only natural to start putting two and two together and start making sense of certain things  Their special injections cant abolish all sense of awareness, or otherwise wed have a community full of zombies. In fact, thats kind of what the characters feel like something more akin to a zombie or a robot than a living, breathing, feeling human being. Its just not cinematic to have a film with main players who cant feel. And this isnt really an example of the film staying true to the book, but rather an example of the film taking an element of it way too far. Theres Romance Jonas did have an eye for Fiona in the book, but in the movie, its taken to typical young adult romance levels. Had the filmmakers actually taken the time to give viewers a comprehensive sense of how the marriage process works in the community and how wrong it was to have Stirrings, this could have made for a really interesting addition to the narrative. They do almost get there when they have Jonas ask The Giver Jeff Bridges about having a wife when youre the Receiver of Memory, but like most elements of the film, it isnt given enough time for you to digest and consider. Read the Movie 43 movie synopsis, view the movie trailer, get cast and crew information, see movie photos, and more on Movies. Free The Giver papers, essays, and research papers. The Giver Full Movie' title='The Giver Full Movie' />Share this Rating. Title The Giver 2014 6. Want to share IMDbs rating on your own site Use the HTML below. Movies. com, the ultimate source for everything movies, is your destination for new movie trailers, reviews, photos, times, tickets more Stay in the know with the. Watch Mr. Troop Mom Megavideo'>Watch Mr. Troop Mom Megavideo. Read reviews, watch trailers and clips, find showtimes, view celebrity photos and more on MSN Movies. Kanye West has announced that he has 53 million in personal debt. Instead, what we get are a bunch of those all too familiar awkward attempts to tell someone you like them plus a downright ridiculous waterfall kiss scene. Theres nothing wrong with the kiss itself and Thwaites and Odeya Rush actually do have some chemistry, but that damn waterfall is just so distracting. Who would ever walk through it and then head off to work soaking wet like theres absolutely nothing weird about it  And its not like they were actually hiding from the community surveillance in there anyway. The Chief Elder is a Villain. One of the reasons The Giver is such a thoughtful read is because it moves forward without a defined antagonist. You could say the Chief Elders are the bad guys because theyre the ones enforcing Sameness, but really, what do they even know  The Giver is the one with all the memories. Theyre just doing what they think is best for the community. The Giver Full Movie' title='The Giver Full Movie' />Critics Consensus Phillip Noyce directs The Giver with visual grace, but the movie doesnt dig deep enough into the classic source materials thoughtprovoking ideas. Still, because the perspective in the novel needed to be changed to suit the needs of the film and because Cards original novel is highly detailed and accurate in. In the movie, however, Meryl Streeps Chief Elder essentially behaves like Kate Winslets character in Divergent. Shes in charge so shes going to keep things the way she wants them, even if she has to do terrible things in the process, and then shell use the structure of the society as an excuse. Streeps character does wind up upping the suspense every now and then, but its at the expense of Jonas personal journey. In the book, just like the movie, Jonas is compelled to up and leave his home when he hears about Gabriels impending euthanasia. But, in the book, rather than run to The Giver for last minute help and take part in a chase scene, Jonas just packs some food and leaves. Hes terrified, but the decision and what follows isnt fueled by action, but by Jonas resolve and beliefs. That doesnt come through in the movie. Instead, the focus is on the fact that the Chief Elder is after him and that shes going to kill Fiona if he doesnt get to Elsewhere fast enough. The Movie is Sci Fi to the Max. Moonlight Resonance Watch Online Episode 1'>Moonlight Resonance Watch Online Episode 1. I dont know about you, but when I read The Giver, I certainly didnt picture a futuristic landscape with touch screens, holograms and space ship like sliding doors. In fact, I always imagined the opposite the utmost simplicity and only whats necessary to live comfortably. In Noyce movie, however, gone are the days of the pill that eradicates Stirrings. Now its an injection via a fancy apparatus built into your own home that not only strips you of those feelings, but many others as well. Ashers also no longer the Assistant Director of Recreation. Hes a drone pilot in training, and probably only so the filmmakers could have a little added and very forced action in the third act. And then of course weve got the general design of the community. Theres high tech machinery everywhere, the graduates get their assignments on digital tablets rather than in folders and even the bicycles have a sleeker design. Is all of this bad  Not necessarily, but it still begs the question, does the story need it, and the answer to that is a definitive no. In fact, the flashier gadgets and setting take away from the human qualities of the narrative and also make it distractingly obvious that The Giver is trying to bank on Divergent and The Hunger Games success. Memory Loss Can Be Reversed In Lowrys book, they never really give a detailed account of why the community has no memories. The Giver has them all for the sake of Sameness and thats just the way it is. The movie, however, does explain more about the communitys loss of memory, and the problem with that is that it seems to have been done to serve the more unnecessary elements of the filmthose pieces that make The Giver feel more like a Hunger Games, Divergent knock off.