The Giver Movie Reaction

I have a surprise for you all!  I went to the midnight showing of The Giver today with some friends!  I was so excited when they offered to take me along!  Here is my reaction.  There are a few spoilery things that you have to highlight to see however I only did that for things in the movie that are spoilery.  So if you haven't read the book, go read it and then read this!  Or if you don't mind spoilers, go ahead.

IMDB  Goodreads (book)

In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.

This is such a powerful and touching movie.  I started having tingles during the last scene!  The message it sends, I think the producers did a fabulous job maintaining that message.  There is really only  one thing that bugged me about it.

They invented a romance between Jonas and Fiona (or at least, he tried to start one and show her what she was missing in her life).  I realize that the producers and directors were trying to make this movie sellable but really?  That just made it like any other dystopian/fantasy book to movie adaption out there.

They did change things from the book.  Sometimes bigish things.  But I think that was all necessary and I understand why they did it.  It didn't change the message or the outcome or really the way Jonas and the community got there so I don't really mind that they changed it.

How they slowly progressed from black and white to color really illustrated the change in Jonas and his way of thinking and realizing the shadowed life that he was living.  The way it was done was truly marvelous.

I said it once before and I'll say it again: the last scene was just wow.  All those recognizable images from history speak to you and show you what the human condition really is.  It perfectly embodied the book and it's message.

I'm on the fence for the casting choices.  It's late, so I don't want to go tramping through the internet to find my dream cast so I don't know off the top of my head if there would have been better casting choices made.  They were okay... not perfect but good enough.

Overall, I loved the movie and while it did leave out some things and add some, I feel that was a necessary part of the conversion between book and movie.  I, however, do not approve of the romance.  I really hope they make another movie!

Do you have plans to see The Giver?  And if you've already seen it, what's your opinion?