The Giver by Lois Lowry: Novel vs Movie
In my last blog posts, I’ve mentioned the films of the books I read, so I thought it would be a fun idea to compare literature and television. My Disney+ subscription unfortunately expired a while ago which is the only platform The Mysterious Benedict Society (my most recent blog) is available on and I don’t remember enough of the show to write a blog about it. As a result, I rewatched The Giver (my first post) as a movie on Netflix to refresh my memory, since I didn’t remember much. Here are my thoughts on the film and it’s comparison to the original novel:
First off, the movie obviously is a completely different kind of experience with its ability to display colorful visuals as well as sound effects and music. With reading, the pages of words printed in black ink and your imagination are all you have. However, I think the book fits in so much more than the 90 minute film. Stronger details and emotions are conveyed that I didn’t quite pick up in the movie. Part of it might be that I don’t think they had the best actors and actresses. For me, a good movie makes me forget that it’s a movie. But while watching this film, I constantly caught myself thinking about how they recorded it, what it was like behind the scenes, and that the actors were just acting. I am being a bit critical, it wasn’t necessarily a bad movie. I just didn’t feel as immersed when watching it versus reading the novel. I understood that most of the characters were meant to seem emotionless and unusual in their dystopian world. But the film ended up feeling more choppy, blank, and hard to believe. Slow in the beginning to where I started feeling bored, but then suddenly too fast to process all of what was going on. There were still parts of the movie that I did appreciate though, like how it gave a less ambiguous ending. It doesn’t give a complete answer as to what happens in the end, but it does provide a sense of relief rather than the book which keeps you completely on edge.
The visual aspect of the movie was done pretty well in my opinion, which the book cannot provide. It starts in black and white, giving a very clear sense of dystopia. As Jonas begins to learn more about the world and possibilities outside of the community, the movie begins to show color, gradually revealing how Jonas’ perception is constantly changing. I also think the movie’s soundtrack fit really well and was excellent at emphasizing certain parts of emotions being conveyed in the scenes. When reading the novel, I just had to imagine and envision all of this in my head.
Both the book and movie versions of The Giver were a fun and interesting experience. I personally liked the novel more since I felt like it went a lot deeper into what was going on inside Jonas’ head. It’s understandable that there were less details in the film though since movies based on books typically have some parts cut out or else it would be too long, and this movie was actually pretty short. Watching the movie first was definitely the wrong way for me to go. There were various aspects of the movie that were completely different from the book, which sort of messed up my reading experience afterwards. An example would be that in the book, Jonas is only twelve years old. In the movie, he’s older, around sixteen/eighteen years old. So while I was reading, I couldn’t help thinking of Jonas as an older teenager rather than just a middle school age. Nevertheless, comparing and contrasting the reading and watching experience of this story was a lot of fun. If you ever get a chance to, I would recommend checking both out (novel first!) and let me know what you think.
-Charlotte
Hi Charlotte. I may (or may not) have read the novel sometime when I was younger but watching the trailer of the movie, it did seem pretty interesting. I like that you include specifics on what makes a movie good for you such as "a good movie makes me forget that it's a movie". I also found it funny how you would catch yourself interested in the making of the movie rather than the movie itself, which I thought was a good detail you gave. Given your advice on reading the novel first, I might check it out sometime. Or I might just watch the movie... But anyways good review.
ReplyDeleteHey Charlotte! I actually have the book version The Giver sitting on my desk right now but I've just been a little busy to read it. I like how you mention that they've cut stuff out in the movie that was originally in the book which is something a lot of movies that come from books do. I kind of hate when movies do that, but sometimes they just aren't able to include everything. Great job on including what you liked about the movie too! Sometimes we think a book or movie is bad and forget that there can be some good parts of it. Taking your advice I will read the book first and then watch the movie! Good job on the review!!
ReplyDeleteHi Charlotte! Although I haven't read or watched the movie, I too enjoy comparing books and movies. I also enjoy reading other people's opinions on things or even watch and listen to it (I'm a sucker for video essays). I do agree when you say that most movies cut out important details to jam it into a 90-120+ minute film, and I wish they added important details to the movie. Overall, I enjoyed your review! Great job :)))
ReplyDeleteI remember reading this book for school in middle school and I remember disliking the ending a lot. I would also hate that Jonas would be so old during the movie, because I feel that Jonas being young plays such a key role in the book. I am glad however that the movie includes the gradual color change, because I feel without that, the movie would be totally different than the book. Great work Charlotte!
ReplyDeleteYes! Being a 12 year old child and taking on such a heavy load as the next chosen Giver was definitely a key point in the story. I googled it and Jonas was played by a 24 year old actor in the film... really made a huge difference that changed the entire feel of the movie.
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