Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Ashley Judd, Tony Goldwyn, Miles Teller, Jai Courtney
Distributor: Hopscotch Films
Runtime: 139 mins. Reviewed in Apr 2014
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For a PR savvy producer, Divergent may not be the immediate choice for a popular film title. However, with Veronica Roth’s series of novels, Divergent, Insurgent, Resurgent, the word takes its place prominently in the world of young adult novels and films. By the time of Divergent, there is a tradition with the Twilight series, that Hunger Games series, following in the footsteps of Harry Potter.
Audiences will notice a great number of similarities between Divergent and The Hunger Games series, prominently the central character being an energetic and resourceful young female. The men are in supporting roles. And, in the case of Divergent, the malevolent authority figure is also female.
Shailene Woodley, so effective in her performances in The Descendants and The Spectacular Now, is Beatrice Prior, who chooses her pesonal name, Tris, as she enters into her equivalent of hunger games, training in the action of The Dauntless. The overall supervisor Jeanine, is played by Kate Winslet.
Once again, this is a futuristic story, in this dystopian world, 100 years after a devastating war and focused on the city of Chicago. For organisation’s sake and keeping the peace, the population is divided into five factions, with homeless rejects from the factions, the faction-less. The factions are: Abnegation (selfless), Amity (peaceful), Candor (truthful), Erudite (intelligent) and Dauntless (brave), based on their personalities.
But there are individuals who do not fit easily into these categories, transcend several of them, who are viewed with suspicion as undermining the system. They are the Divergents. It is no surprise to find that Tris is a Divergent.
Tris comes from a family of the abnegation faction. This faction is in charge of ruling the city, her father (Tony Goldwyn) is an official and her mother (Ashley Judd) is a Divergent. Her brother chooses Erudite.
A great deal of the film is taken up by the training of The Dauntless, ultra-tough methods, ruthlessly applied by the commander, Eric (Jai Courtney). His second in command, Four (Theo James) is a more ambiguous character with whom Tris forms bond. Needless to say, Tris overcomes her limitations and becomes one of the key Dauntless.
As might be suspected, there are rumblings in some of the factions, resenting Abnegation being the rulers. This is fermented by Jeanine and her technical program to eliminate abnegation from its key role. This leads to factional uprisings and violent confrontations with the Dauntless.
While the main focus in this film is the training of The Dauntless, the action is leading to insurgency which paves the way for the sequel, Insurgent.
Those who’ve read the novels will be eager to see the films. For those who have not read the novels, the film may be an interesting introduction – but more for the young adult targeted audience rather than the adult audience.
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