Blu-ray Movie Reviews

In the utopian community of The Giver, citizens have been relieved of the burden of having memories beyond their own lives. Human history has been erased. The logic being that if you have no memory of the past, you won’t be doomed to repeat it. Daily mandatory injections chemically stifle personal ambition, curiosity, and primordial urges, and Big Brother is ever watchful. The established rules are these: Use assigned language, wear the approved clothing, take your daily medication, obey the curfew, and never lie.

Every adolescent enters their stage of maturation in a graduation ceremony in which their life vocations are issued to them by a committee of elders, but a promising young man named Jonas is selected for a very special assignment. There is one among the elders called “The Giver,” and this man is the sole custodian of all the memories of human history. The time has come once again for The Giver to take on an apprentice and pass the torch of knowledge to a “Receiver.” Jonas is bequeathed visions of real human experience and emotion, and he gets his first real taste of love, freedom of choice, and individualism, but also pain and sorrow. As exhilarating as the experience is, Jonas is forbidden from sharing his remarkable revelations with anyone. He inevitably rebels against his “perfect” society and becomes a dangerous threat to the established order.

The Giver begins in a world that is stark black and white, thematically and literally. Color gradually breathes into the scenery as Jonas gains more and more insight, and the full-color exteriors offer the most vibrant and solid imagery here. The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is a solid and pleasing mix that provides a consistently even atmosphere of dialogue, sound effects, and score but doesn’t often excite and overwhelm the senses.

Extras include featurettes, one extended scene, and a rare video provided by Jeff Bridges of the first script reading of The Giver.

Science fiction has always offered powerful and sobering parables about the encroaching dangers of fascism in a free-thinking society. George Orwells’s 1984 and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis are two early examples of many. Stories may differ, but the central theme is unchanged; “No perfect world is perfect without free will.” The Giver explores that familiar and compelling theme but ultimately falls short of a substantial payoff.

Blu-Ray
Studio: Achor Bay, 2014
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio Format: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Length: 97 mins.
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Phillip Noyce
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Brenton Thwaites