Story
The Giver is a science fiction movie based on a young adult novel.
The movie is set in the year 2048. After a large-scale war has occurred, the scarred community has decided to remove all emotions, colours and concepts of love to protect itself from future harm. All citizens have had their memories wiped. Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) is 18 years old and is the only person with memories because the Chief Elder (Meryl Streep) has named him the Receiver of Memory. Jonas gets these memories from the previous Receiver, who has now become The Giver (Jeff Bridges). Jonas uses the memories to advise the Elders, who make decisions for the community.
Jonas’s father brings home a young baby named Gabe. Jonas begins to share memories with Gabe, who also has the mark of a potential Receiver of Memory on his wrist. In time, Jonas and the Giver decide that the only way to revive the community is to give people back their memories. Jonas kidnaps Gabe and goes on the run as guards attempt to capture him.
Themes
Mind control; totalitarian authority; relationships
Violence
The Giver has some violence. For example:
Sexual references
The Giver has mild sexual references. For example, the Elders discuss how love leads to sex, which leads to murder and death. The Elders therefore believe that emotions are negative and the word ‘love’ is banished.
People of all ages are not allowed to touch anyone who is not a member of their direct nuclear family. They are not allowed to hug or kiss their family either. People in relationships are not permitted to have sex, and how pregnancies occur isn’t explained.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
The Giver shows lethal injections used for euthanasia and execution throughout.
Nudity and sexual activity
The Giver has mild sexual activity, including when a young couple share a kiss. The girl is nervous and walks away after asking, ‘What was that?’ The boy later dreams that he kisses her again after a wedding.
Product placement
None of concern
Coarse language
The Giver contains mild coarse language and name-calling, as well as religious exclamations.
Ideas to discuss with your children
The Giver is a futuristic movie about the degradation of humanity in the search for utopia. It’s also about the damage that can happen when communities have the technological capacity to change emotional states and memories. It highlights the importance of individual thought and independence, as well as the significance of learning from past experience and historical events. Relationships are presented as necessary and positive additions to a balanced life, whether they are based primarily on friendship or on sexual intimacy and romance.
The movie is based on young adult fiction with themes and disturbing scenes that make it unsuitable for most children under 15 years, although younger children might have read the book.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include:
- knowing when to stand up to authority figures, and when to break society’s rules
- being inquisitive and questioning society and its moral code
- relying on your friends, and letting them help you when you need it.