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Rating: Q=6, P=5 / Average OJ
Scale 1=3, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=3, Scale 4=2
Coming of Age, Dystopian/Utopian, Philosophical, Based on Book
I read The Giver when I was in sixth grade and it had an enormous impact on me as a young person. The narrative structure of Lois Lowry's story was almost like a mystery, the reader "waking up" along the main character, learning all the truths and lies and memories along with. And it's a powerful way to explain the concepts of society, culture, free will, right and wrong, etc. to a young person starting to think of his or herself.
This film version gets some of that right, but most of that effective structure is missing and so the power of the story is off--it feels limp. I'm not sure my younger self would have been impacted in the same way after watching this as I was after reading. So, I guess, this is a good example of an adaptation that didn't quite hit the mark. The Truman Show, a story in a similar vein, does a much much better job. But I still enjoyed The Giver and my hope is that it will get more kids to read the book.
This film version gets some of that right, but most of that effective structure is missing and so the power of the story is off--it feels limp. I'm not sure my younger self would have been impacted in the same way after watching this as I was after reading. So, I guess, this is a good example of an adaptation that didn't quite hit the mark. The Truman Show, a story in a similar vein, does a much much better job. But I still enjoyed The Giver and my hope is that it will get more kids to read the book.
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