The Giver

Part Divergent, part Elysium and a little bit Logan's Run, The Giver is not the most original film you'll ever see. Derived from a 20-year-old teen bestseller, it's set in yet another dully familiar dystopian future, where sameness is celebrated, emotions have been erased, and a leaching-out of all colour has left - both literally and figuratively - a black-and-white world. But rebel librarian Jeff Bridges (aka The Giver), the sole repository of mankind's feelings and frailties, is determined to put the "real" back into real life. And so, too, after some persuasion, is his teen protégé Brenton Thwaites. But Chief Elder and arch stick-in-the-mud Meryl Streep is having none of it, and conflict ensues. Cutting between monochrome and colour according to whose world view we're privy to, The Giver has its moments, but generally fails to convince the viewer of the credibility of the world it inhabits. In fact, at times, it's plain nonsensical. Bridges and Streep are OK, but Thwaites is a bland lead, and embroiled in an undercooked love affair that won't cut much mustard with teen film fans who've come to expect things to be more intense than this.