The Giver

Is it that post-apocalyptic films are so grim because they make our society look good as is, or does someone know something we others don't know? Either they are very grim as in "The Book of Eli" or as seemingly palatable with an underlying grimness as with "Elysium", and anywhere in between. So now we have "The Giver" laid before us to dissect so as to let us know what's coming or to warn us lest we fall into the same trap.

This is a post-apocalypticfilm in the future after 'The Ruin' focused on Jonas (Brenton Thwaites), a young man who lives in a seemingly ideal, colorless world of conformity and contentment whereas society's memories have been erased for the sake of peace and tranquility. This is a society where they are polite, never lie even if they seem like robots. But as the children become of age, they are given their position in life. Jonas turns out to be special and is given the honorable 'Receiver of Memories' position and is then tutored by The Giver (Jeff Bridges) who is the sole keeper of all the community's memories. As he teaches Jonas about the memories, Jonas quickly discovers the dark and deadly truths of his community's secret past. With this newfound power of knowledge, he realizes that the stakes are higher than imagined-- a matter of life and death for himself and those he loves most. At extreme odds, Jonas knows that he must escape their world to protect them all-- a challenge that no one has ever succeeded at before. But he must succeed in escaping the clutches of the Chief Elder (Meryl Streep) and her henchmen to obtain this task.

Others to round out the cast are Alexander Skarsgard as Father, Katie Holmes as Mother, Odeya Rush as Fiona, Cameron Monaghan as Asher, Taylor Swift as Rosemary and Emma Tremblay as Lilly.

This was directed by veteran director Phillip Noyce ("Backroads" '77, "Heatwave" '82, "Dead Calm" '89, "Patriot Games" '92, "Clear and Present Danger" '94, "The Saint" '97, "The Bone Collector" '99, "Rabbit-Proof Fence" '02, "The Quiet American" '02, "Catch a Fire" '06, "Salt" '10, "Americana" (TV movie) '12, "Mary and Martha" (TV movie) '13) plus others. This guy is a consummate pro one can bank on to see how he get his actors to emit just the right amount of emotion, or lack of, to make you believe that these actors are the characters they are playing. Of course it doesn't hurt to have Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep to show these emotions to make one think this way. The writing was by Michael Mitnick and Robert B. Weide based on the book by Lois Lowry. Even though this has a little "Divergent" in it, with a bit "Pleasantville" thrown in, and has the Utopian backdrop of "Elysium", this premise, in how it was handled, was one of the best stories based on a young adult novel I have seen to date. Brenton Twaites as Jonas gave a very believable performance and will definitely receive more work. If this film teaches us anything, it is that we must have choices in order to make definitive decisions in our lives. We must experience the pain, pleasure, happiness, joy, heartache, and sadness in order to keep us 'in check' and to help us stay as well-rounded individuals. If others dictate our very thoughts and emotions, we become mere robots who have no purpose that become void of what humanity is supposed to be.

This is good, because it brings that message all too well that we need to hear all the while entertaining us with good acting and some neat visual effects--hey, this is the future.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                            Rated: PG-13                               97mins.