THE GIVER (2014 - DRAMA / ACTION / MYSTERY)
****1/2 out of ***** OR 9 out of 10
(I am doing my utmost best to refrain from
cracking any blowjob jokes right now...)
CAST:
Jeff Bridge, Meryl Streep, Brenton Thwaites, Alexander Skarsgaard, Katie
Holmes, Odeya Rush, Taylor Swift, Cameron Monaghan, Emma Tremblay.
DIRECTOR:
Phillip Noyce
WARNING:
Some SPOILERS and some very convincing reasons to celebrate the fucked-up
present and to fear the even more fucked-up future - straight ahead...
IT'S LIKE THIS:
Earlier this year we witnessed what happened in a utopian future society
wherein everyone must choose one of five factions - and remain part of it for
the rest of their lives. That movie was
called DIVERGENT, and while everything was painted in hunkey-dorey colors at
the beginning, it soon became clear that this so-called utopia (read: perfect)
was really more of a dystopia (read: screwed-up on so many levels). Soon, it developed that one of the factions,
the stuck-up assholes called "Erudites, " were out to undermine all
the other factions and seize control of society. In other words, imagine your local high school
being taken over by the brains - to the chagrin of the cheerleaders, jocks,
potheads, and artsy-fartsies. Not to
mention the faculty.
Now we have another "Utopia that is really a
Dystopia" flick with our next review.
It's titled THE GIVER, and is apparently based on a very popular young
adult book from the 80's. I have not
read it, but the friend I went to see THE GIVER with did. When I asked him how the movie compared to
the novel, his answer was simple and straightforward: "The movie was totally
Hollywoodized." Which wouldn't be
the first time that happened, I guess.
Anyhow, the hero of THE GIVER is Jonas (Brenton
Thwaites), a teenager who lives in the distant future, wherein society has been
streamlined and sanitized to the point of sterility. Everyone is nice to each other. Everyone speaks in precise language without
emotional nuance or subtext. Everyone
colors within the lines and keeps their head down. Everything is black-and-white. Literally: the movie starts out in
black-and-white, I guess to drive home the point that this place is about as
fun as a vacation in Stepford, Connecticut - another place wherein everyone is
all-smiles to the point of freakiness.
This doesn't bother Jonas, though. Nor does it faze his best pals, Fiona (Odeya
Rush), whom he has a major crush on because she's hot, and Asher (Cameron
Monaghan), whom he doesn't because he's a competitive asshole. Jonas, Fiona, and Asher are about to mark a
major milestone in their lives: they are about to come-of-age in a ceremony
wherein the Elders will pick the jobs they will hold for the rest of their
lives. Kind of like the way Tris
(Shailene Woodley) in DIVERGENT had to choose which posse, er, faction she
would run with for the rest of hers.
Except in THE GIVER, there's very little chance of Jonas, Fiona, and
Asher winding up working with someone as hot as Four (Theo James) to boss them
around.
But I digress.
Anyhow, the Chief Elder (Meryl Streep) grants Asher the duty of Security
Prick (or something like that) and Fiona is given the position of Baby Nurse
Midwife Whatever. For Jonas, though, she
has a very special position in mind: The
Receive Of Memory. You see, when society
decidedly to go all monochramatic, they archived everything from the past like
art, movies, dancing, music, sports, internet, snowboarding, sledding, and
pretty much anything else that used to be, well, colorful and fun. But instead of storing everything in some
library somewhere (although there is a small one that's like a back-up system),
the Elders decided to store the Memories Of All Fun Things in the mind of...
The Giver.
The Giver (Jeff Bridges) trains The Receiver
(Jonas) on all the information, images, and experiences in his mind - and does
a series of "memory transfers" to get all that data, uh,
transferred. Once Jonas has reached
maximum capacity and can control the info, he will then be given the title
of... The New Giver. Until such time a
new, um, Reciever is annointed. Or
something like that. Meanwhile, The Old
Giver will go off somewhere to, I suppose, definitely not have mai-tais on a beach somewhere. That kind of retirement doesn't exist in this
world apparently.
Unfortunately, Jonas takes a little too well to
the memories that are transplanted into his head by The Giver. He learns what it's like to sled down a snowy
hill, swim in the warm ocean, dance like a crazed fool - and essentially behave
like a college student on holiday.
Needless to say, he starts to realize that maybe The Things Of The Past
aren't such a bad thing, after all. He
starts to ask more and more questions of The Giver, and pressures him for more
and more "experiences."
There are several people who are not too crazy
about Jonas' overeager desire for more forbidden knowledge: (1) Mother (Katie Holmes), a bitch so stiff
and upright she must have been born with a steel rod shoved up her ass; (2)
Father (Alexander Skarsgaard), a dude so mellow and loose that you have to
wonder if he needs a steel rod shoved up his ass; and (3) The Chief Elder,
herself, who is clearly the person in charge of handing out steel rods to be
jammed up people's asses. Specifically,
the Chief Elder is afraid that Jonas may find out too much about the past - and
might want to change the present and, consequently, the future. Soon, she goes all DIVERGENT on Jonas' ass
and sends the troops after him and The Giver.
Will Jonas and The Giver outsmart the Chief
Elder's thugs and goons? What happens
when Jonas learns that his best pal Asher is in charge of bringing him
down? Will friendship prevail? Or will Asher do his duty and wipe out his
childhood buddy? And what happens when
Jonas discovers a special baby named Gabe who has the same gifts as he and The
Giver? Will he risk his life to protect Gabe?
Will Fiona help? How will all
this end?
Let's put it this way: if someone gives - someone
has to receive. But the receiver should
tell the giver not to use any teeth. The
receiver should also give the giver ample warning before he...
I'm just saying.
BUT SERIOUSLY:
In our plot breakdown above, we discussed the striking similarities between
DIVERGENT and THE GIVER. Both films
revolve around seemingly-utopian societies that turn out to have something very
wrong about them. Both films deal with
themes of conformity, collectivism, and rebellion. Both films have villains who are well-intentioned
but cross the line in their quest to keep the past from rising up to change the
present and future. And both films are
well-acted and excellently-executed.
I wouldn't be surprised if Veronica Roth, author
of the "Divergent" quadrilogy, was influenced in some small way by
"The Giver." It doesn't really
matter which of the two is more original because there have been striking story
parallels between movies since the art of cinema began. What matters is a good movie is essentially a
story well told - and both DIVERGENT and THE GIVER tell their
individual-yet-related stories very well, indeed.
THE GIVER is based on a book that I gather was
published in the early-80s. How faithful
the movie is to the book, I'm not sure, but the friend I saw the film with says
the cinematic version is much more elaborate in terms of action, suspense, and
special effects. He also saw DIVERGENT
with me several times, and he says that the movie version of "The
Giver" is closer to the Shailene Woodley/Theo James hit film from earlier
this year, than it is to the source novel.
The core of the story is still there, he says, but the execution is much
more like that of DIVERGENT: a slick, suspenseful, sci-fi action/thriller.
I haven't read "The Giver" myself, but
I have to say that I enjoyed THE GIVER very much indeed. Like DIVERGENT, it anchors all the action,
intrigue, chases, and thrills in a very poignant, human place. DIVERGENT's emotional core was Tris (Woodley)
trying to find her niche in society, as well as her budding romance with her
icy-but-loyal trainer, Four (James).
DIVERGENT worked wonderfully, because it was character-oriented despite
its potentially-complicated plot. THE GIVER
follows the same route, putting us firmly in Jonas' shoes as he tries to navigate
the unexpected position in society he's been given - and the even more
unexpected rewards (and dangers) it brings.
Whereas DIVERGENT dealt with conformity from a
categorization slant, THE GIVER deals with the same issue from the perspective
of removing all emotional complexity.
Logic is paramount in THE GIVER's world, and the things of the old world
that made life so chaotic and unpredictable have been banished into the shadows
and the memories of the various Givers throughout the decades. Unfortunately, as Jonas and his friends find
out, a life bereft of chaos and unpredictability isn't much of a life, at
all. The positive flip side of chaos is
passion, and his glimpses of it during his sessions with The Giver make him
realize what they have all been missing.
And it's what makes him feel truly alive for the first time in his
life.
Brenton Thwaites is a fairly unknown Australian
actor who takes ownership of his role in very much the same Woodley and James
ran with theirs in DIVERGENT. The character
of Jonas is meant to be someone who has alway conformed and been invisible, but
who suddenly realizes he doesn't want to be invisible anymore. Thwaites makes Jonas' transformation from
mellow, conforming pacifist to fiery, galvanized idealist, a compelling one to
watch. He had a small role as the Prince
in the very good MALEFICENT, and it's nice to see him finally get a true
showcase to run with here.
Odeya Rush and Cameron Monaghan are very
appealing as, respectively, Fiona and Asher, Jonas' confidantes. Rush is particularly affecting in a climactic
scene that blends heart-wrenching poignancy and heart-pounding suspense, in
equal measure. Monaghan, on the other
hand, manages to give Asher some nice nuances, blending duty to his job with
touching loyalty to Jonas. The very
brief shot where Asher surprisingly defies his orders to help his best friend
is a great one - and is a classic example of how to load emotional complexity
in a single line of dialogue.
As for the older cast members, Alexander
Skarsgaard and Katie Holmes are spot-on as Jonas' obedient parents. Skarsgaard, with his soft puppy dog eyes,
ably conveys the quiet resignation beneath Father's mellow surface, giving us
the sense that, like Jonas, he questions many things about the world he lives
in, but doesn't have his son's courage to upset the status quo and make
changes. Meanwhile, Holmes is eerily
effective as the controlling mother who monitors her family's every move like a
hawk. Despite the
"girl-next-door" aura that she started her career with, Holmes is
actually best playing strong ballbusters (like Rachel Dawes in BATMAN BEGINS),
and she turns Mother into a similarly-formidable figure.
Then, of course, there are the Great Meryl Streep
and Jeff Bridges, as respectively, The Chief Elder and The Giver. Needless to say, Streep and Bridges are
acting royalty and command every scene they are in. However, they do this without hogging the
limelight, and always graciously share center stage with their co-stars. Bridges as The Giver has a nice father-son
rapport with Jonas, and he has the perfect paternal chemistry with Thwaites
that sells their relationship - which is crucial because the link between The
Giver and The Receiver is the emotional core of this film. Like Jonas, The Giver is someone whose
seemingly placid exterior hides a sharp, strategic mind that is very quickly
putting things together and planning counter-attacks - and Bridges' similar
laconic-but-with-razor-wits is perfect for the character.
No review of THE GIVER would be complete without
discussing the wonderful enigma that is Meryl Streep. Streep is one of my favorite actresses
because of her ability to be mysterious, aloof, and distant, yet open,
friendly, and vulnerable at the same time.
She's one of the few actresses that actually slip seamlessly into the
skins of her character, and the Chief Elder is her latest sterling
example. Just like Jeanine Matthews
(Kate Winslet) from DIVERGENT, the Chief is driven not by rage or profit - but
by an idealogy that she is willing to kill or die for.
I've often said that the best villains are not
evil, but simply have agendas they will do anything to see realized. Often, these agendas make perfect sense - but
what makes these people baddies is they believe in their plans so much they are
willing to hurt innocent people for it.
For them, the means always justify the ends - any means, even deadly
ones. And that makes them much, much
more dangerous because it's hard to reason with them. A villain driven by rage can possibly be
stopped by kindness, compassion, and forgiveness, while one motivated by money
can be bought off. But an antagonist who
believes deeply and passionately in a cause or goal, so much so that they are
willing to sacrifice anything or anyone (even themselves) for it, is probably
the most formidable foe there is.
Streep brings this unsettling quality to vivid life, effectively
combining a wistful sadness with cool, understated menace. Is there a role this woman can't play? I think not.
Ultimately, THE GIVER and DIVERGENT have many
things in common, plot-wise: compelling stories, stellar casts, suspenseful
action, and profound themes. But the
most important thing they share is this: they are two the best of Summer 2014's
films. And that is special common
ground, indeed.
