The Giver is based off the book of the same name. Originally written in 1993 by Lois Lowry, The

Giver is about a futuristic utopia that was tired of war and pain and wanted to eliminate suffering and

difference. They accomplish this by erasing differences, by making people colorblind, and by suppressing

heavy emotions. Differences are not celebrated in this society. Emotions are suppressed in this society.

In order for the community to remain stable, careers are assigned to children at a specific age, 18 years

old in the movie, and 12 in the book. There are some differences between the movie and the original

book, but the plot is not changed too much.

The Giver has good cast, Brenton Thwaites leads as Jonas, an 18-year-old who ends up being

selected as the Receiver. The Receiver’s duty is to receive memories of the past from the Giver (Played

by Jeff Bridges), an old man who sees the past so that he can give advice to the Council of Elders which

leads the community. Meryl Streep takes on the role of the Chief Elder, the leader of the community.

Other members of the cast include Odeya Rush and Cameron Monaghan as Jonas’s friends Fiona and

Asher. Taylor Swift makes a cameo as Rosemary, who appears in flashbacks. The acting is great and

believable. The Giver pays tribute to Lowry while staying unique by providing an excellent and exciting

story that is directly based on the novel. The design choices are impressive and make the setting feel

real and unique, while still capturing the world described in the novel. One thing to mention is that

the opening moments of The Giver is in black-and-white but color gradually appears as the plot carries

on. This captures the imagery of The Giver and is a great way to portray how the characters view their

world. The decision of straying from the source is usually a risky one, but with The Giver, it works. The

Giver pays great respect to the novel but still finds a way to stand out. I highly recommend you see The

Giver!