Kidsmomo

In both the book and movie versions of The Giver by Lois Lowry, it’s against the rules to lie. So we’re just going to come out and say it: We did NOT like this movie.

Nancy’s never read the book and Karen has, but both of us felt pretty much the same way about the film: BORING!

The original book is amazing — a dystopian novel that was written way before The Hunger Games and Divergent but still feels fresh even reading it today (or in Karen’s case, re-reading it).

The story is about a world that’s been engineered so everything runs smoothly and there’s no pain or suffering. Sounds great, right? WRONG!

In this community, everybody is assigned a job when they come of age. Jonas is selected to receive all the memories of human civilization from before this safe world was created — and he realizes quickly that all is not as it seems. In making this “utopia,” have people actually lost more good than they’ve gained? And can Jonas live with the secrets he’s uncovering?

If you want to know the answer, read the book! DO NOT watch the movie.

Like the muted world in the story, the film itself feels dull and flat. Whereas the book will capture your imagination and make you think, you probably won’t feel inspired by the movie’s bad acting and sense of distance from its subject and characters. Just don’t even bother.

If you’re already a fan of the book, well, maybe you’d find it interesting to watch the movie from a critic’s point of view and make note of all the similarities and differences.

To be fair, the film does keep a lot of the stuff from the book. But be prepared — there are some MAJOR changes, including the addition of a romance and action sequences. Plus, Karen thinks the baby playing Gabe wasn’t very cute (yes, she went there and said a mean thing about a baby!).

So, in case you couldn’t tell, we give this movie two frowny faces. The movie wasn’t terrible, but it was pretty meh. And given that the original book is so good, it deserved a better movie.

 

Have you already seen the movie? Or are you a fan of the book? Please leave a comment with your thoughts! In the community of the story, we’d be scolded for using imprecise language, but seriously, we are dying to hear from you guys on this!