The Giver (film)

Plot[edit]

Following a calamity referred to as "the Ruin", society has been reorganized, taking away any sense of emotion, good or bad. Babies are brought into being through genetic engineering, and sexual desire is chemically suppressed. All memories of the past are held by one person, the Receiver of Memory, to shield the rest of the community. Receiver of Memory and his protégé are the only people able to see in color, which is otherwise eliminated from the community to prevent envy. The community is ruled by elders, including the Chief Elder. Jonas is an 18-year-old boy whose best friends are Asher and Fiona. On graduation day, Jonas is told that he will become the next Receiver of Memory and will progressively receive memories of history from his predecessor, the Giver. During his training with the Giver, Jonas gradually learns about the past and about joy, pain, death, and love. He stops taking his daily injections (which stop him from dreaming and thinking about Fiona, for whom he has feelings) and begins to experience emotion. Those who leave the community are said to have been "released to Elsewhere", but Jonas learns that to be a euphemism for murder by lethal injection. Jonas also learns that the Giver's daughter, Rosemary, had preceded Jonas as Receiver of Memory. When she began her training, however, Rosemary became so distraught from the memories that she received that she asked to be "released".


Jonas learned the memories received from the Giver and accidentally shares his memories with a baby, Gabriel, who was brought home by his father. He develops a close relationship with Gabriel upon discovering that they share a birthmark, the mark of a potential Receiver of Memory, and both can see in color.


Appalled by the deception of his community and the Elders' disregard for human life, Jonas comes to believe that everyone should have memories of the past. Eventually, the Giver and Jonas decide that the only way to help the community is for Jonas to travel past the border of their land to "Elsewhere". Doing so would release memories and color back into the community. When Jonas tries to leave his neighborhood, he encounters Asher, who tries to stop Jonas but is punched by Jonas. Jonas retrieves Gabriel, who is to be "released" for having failed to meet a developmental marker, at the Nurturing Center.


Meanwhile, Jonas' mother and Asher go to the Chief Elder to say that Jonas is missing. Jonas steals a motorcycle and drives away with Gabriel. Asher is assigned by the Chief Elder to use a drone to find Jonas and "take" him. When Asher finds Jonas and Gabriel in the desert, Jonas beseeches Asher to trust him and to let them go. Instead, Asher captures them with the drone but sets them free by dropping them into a river. When he is questioned by the Chief Elder, Asher lies and says that he has followed her orders.


Fiona is condemned to be "released" for helping Jonas. Just as she is about to be "released" by Jonas' father, the Giver tries to persuade the Chief Elder that the Elders should free the community. Unmoved by the Giver's arguments, the Chief Elder asserts that freedom is a bad idea because when they are left to their own devices, people make bad choices.


Jonas and Gabriel enter a snowy area. Jonas falls to the ground and is overcome by the cold weather. However, he sees a sled like the one that he rode in a memory that he had received from the Giver. Jonas and Gabriel ride the sled downhill and cross the border into Elsewhere, which frees their community and also saves Fiona's life as Jonas' father stops short of "releasing" her upon realizing his intentions. Jonas realizes that he has succeeded in his quest.