The Giver
A newly appointed memory keeper risks everything to restore color, love, and painful truth to a carefully pacified future society.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- earnest
- thoughtful
- tense
- thoughtful weekend viewing
- young adult movie night
What critics said
Critics generally found the strong performances and dystopian premise undermined by a simplistic, underdeveloped screenplay and a bland adaptation.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Jonas discovers that his apparently pleasant community has eliminated love, pain, and genuine emotional experience.
Jonas initially sees a literally colorless world, while memories and his awakening introduce vivid color.
Jonas breaks the rule against sharing memories and becomes a public enemy after opposing the treatment of Gabriel.
The Giver trains Jonas as Receiver by transmitting memories of joy, pain, and love from the erased past.
Films like The Giver, and why
Equilibrium
shares a young protagonist challenging an emotionless dystopian society and recovering forbidden human feeling
Divergent
shares a controlled future community, suppressed individuality, and a rebellion against enforced social conformity
Brave New World
shares a science fiction dystopia centered on memory, social engineering, and the moral cost of eliminating pain
The Hunger Games
shares a young outsider awakening to a manufactured society and resisting its authoritarian rules
Movie Details
- Director
- Phillip Noyce
- Release Date
- 2014-08-13
- Runtime
- 97 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (4709)
Cast
- Jeff Bridges
- Meryl Streep
- Brenton Thwaites
- Alexander Skarsgård
- Katie Holmes
- Odeya Rush
- Cameron Monaghan
- Taylor Swift
- Emma Tremblay
- Alexander Jillings
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, FILMBOX+ Stream, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, MovieSphere+ Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Giver about?
- A newly appointed memory keeper risks everything to restore color, love, and painful truth to a carefully pacified future society.
- What is The Giver like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Giver as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Giver violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Giver as mild.
- What did critics think of The Giver?
- Critics generally found the strong performances and dystopian premise undermined by a simplistic, underdeveloped screenplay and a bland adaptation.
- Which films are like The Giver?
- Films with a similar feel include Equilibrium, Divergent, Brave New World, and The Hunger Games.
- How long is The Giver?
- The Giver runs 97 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Giver?
- In United States, The Giver streams on Amazon Prime Video, FILMBOX+ Stream, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, MovieSphere+ Amazon Channel.
