Would you remove pleasure if you could eliminate pain? Would you eliminate joy if you could also eliminate sorrow? Would you eliminate emotion if that would lead to harmony, sameness and an almost automated society? There would be no surprise. No unpredictable events will occur and there would be total homogeneity.
We would have only shades of gray throughout, no bright colors, and a community that had the look of the doldrums of East Berlin when the Berlin Wall first came down and we had a chance to see the reality of life in a communist society.
This sameness is the premise of The Giver and, as always, Jeff Bridges does a marvelous job as The Giver. There is one person assigned to be The Giver and he has the ability to have memory of when society had wars, anger, chaos but also joy, love relationships and true human feelings.
The issue raised is whether we should give up our human emotion, spontaneity and dynamics in exchange for guaranteed harmony and our becoming clone-like in a robotized community.
The film is entertaining and provocative and will raise issues in your mind that will stay with you long past the film experience. It is worth attending with friends with whom you can have a conversation about the issues raised in this film.
Get more information about Mike Siegel on this movie review and many other important topics.
