Review: Divergent

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DivergentIn a dystopian future ruled by an authoritarian government, a young female protagonist with special skills must make personal sacrifices and overcome incredible odds in order to protect her family. That may sound like a plot synopsis for The Hunger Games, but it is equally applicable to this week's release from director Neil Burger (Limitless, The Illusionist). Based on the young adult novel by Veronica Roth, the movie Divergent was scripted by Evan Daugherty (Snow White and the Huntsman) and Vanessa Taylor (Game of Thrones).

Set in post-apocalyptic Chicago, the society of Divergent is organized into five factions who each perform their own important functions, such as labor, government and military, based on personality type. On the eve of adulthood, teens are given an aptitude test to help them determine which faction will be the best fit for them, and they must then choose their permanent assignment.

Shailene Woodley (The Descendants) stars as Beatrice "Tris" Prior, who learns when she takes her test that she is a rare Divergent, someone who is equally suited to more than one faction, with the gift of creative thought -- and therefore a threat to the established regime. Forced to hide this knowledge as exposure would mean certain death, Tris must choose her faction and do her best to avoid making waves, a task that appears impossible when technology is in use that can display one's very thoughts on screen.

Tris receives help from Four (Theo James), assigned to train new members of the faction. Kate Winslet stars as Jeanine Matthews, the mysterious and dangerous figure who more than anything wants to see Divergents captured and killed.

Even with the formulaic setup I found myself somewhat caught up in the story, which consists largely of Tris's struggles to complete training for her chosen faction, Dauntless, the fearless military protectors of the city. These sequences take the audience on a tour of striking visuals through the ruins of Chicago, including training grounds in an abandoned amusement park, a great wall and fence hundreds of feet high that surround the city (though we never see the reason for the fence), and into the stone quarry where the Dauntless make their home.

In spite of thematic similarities, Divergent's story was unique enough to keep it interesting, but the film is held back by its target audience. To keep a PG-13 rating, the action is somewhat less steamy than the young-adult novel. (The ratings board would appear, though, to have no problem with a body count higher than some Charles Bronson films and a scene that simulates an attempted rape.)

Enough time is spent with the introduction, testing, training and trials all building to the ultimate battle, that when it finally arrives, it feels like almost an afterthought that could have used more fleshing out. Divergent ends with characters in a relative state of chaos and is, more than most such films, obviously the first part in a trilogy. 

The rape scene in Divergent

Thanks for mentioning the scene that simulates an attempted rape in your review, Mike. It's great to see that other people who saw the film took issue with that as well. Not sure if you're aware, but the novel by Veronica Roth had a very different scene - nothing like rape at all, which is why I wrote a 3-part response to that scene and an article that thought the rape scene and Tris' evasion of it were congratulated by the community.

In case you're interested, you can check it the first part here (the other two pieces are linked to the first) - Rape Culture in the Divergent Movie: Here's Why It Matters.