The Giver (2014)
- Phillip Noyce originally wanted a completely different ending for the film, but test audiences preferred the one we see today.
- The incredible score for The Giver was composed in just a few weeks after the original composer dropped out.
- Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed a hidden easter egg referencing Phillip Noyce's previous film in the background of the opening scene.
The Giver is a 2014 American dystopian science fiction film directed by Phillip Noyce, based on Lois Lowry's beloved 1993 novel. Brenton Thwaites stars as Jonas, a teenager living in a seemingly perfect, orderly community where all conflict, pain, and emotion have been eliminated through daily injections, assigned roles, and the suppression of color, music, and individuality. When Jonas is selected as the Receiver of Memory β the one person in the community who holds all of humanity's memories of the world before "Sameness" β he is trained by the outgoing Receiver, now called the Giver, played by Jeff Bridges, who transfers memories of love, war, beauty, and suffering that reveal the terrible cost of the community's manufactured peace.
Jeff Bridges had championed the adaptation for nearly two decades, and his weathered, emotional performance as the Giver brought genuine gravitas. The visual transition from the community's black and white to full color as Jonas gains memories was the film's most effective technique. The Giver earned $67 million worldwide on a $25 million budget.
