Divergent (**½)

Directed by: Neil Burger

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ansel Elgort, Ray Stevenson, Kate Winslet, Zoe Kravitz, Maggie Q, Mekhi Phifer, Jai Courtney, Miles Teller, Tony Goldwyn, Ashley Judd

Seen: April 6^th 2014

**½ Out of ****

Like The Hunger Games, Divergent is the first in a trilogy featuring a dystopian future in which society has gone to extreme lengths to survive. Where The Hunger Games overflowed with social commentary re the state of our predilection for entertainment and game shows, Divergent is a more straightforward version of a possible future where government control and fear have won out over the social good of the citizens, favouring a smoke screen of safety offered in extreme structure. In the world of Divergent (tending to be different or develop in different directions), humanity has been split into five factions based on personality essence, with each faction having now developed too far along the lines that should safely define them.

Abnegation is selfless, so much so that other factions call them stiffs. They’re the ruling faction, it must have made sense to put the selfless faction in control. They wear grey and are generally boring, perfect politicians then. Erudites are the smart ones, the scientists and engineers, and they feel they should be the ruling party in this post-apocalyptic landscape. Candor is truthful beyond what’s normal, and they’re shown as unnecessarily brash. Amity are peaceful farmers, one small step away from being fully fledged hippies. Amity doesn’t feature much in the movie though, with most of the screen-time going to the last faction, Dauntless. These are the fearless ones, the covert intelligence and protection arms of society. They’re almost stupidly fearless, running through the streets, never boarding a train if it’s not moving, full of tattoos, almost beyond control.

Beatrice Prior (Woodley) grew up in Abnegation, and when the time comes she and her brother Caleb (Elgort) take the aptitude test that will tell them which faction they will fit in best. The test isn’t the final say however, as they can still select their own faction of choice at the Choosing Ceremony, after which they must stay with this faction or become faction-less hobos. Beatrice’s aptitude test is inconclusive, and she’s lucky enough to have Tori (Maggie Q) as her administrator, who enters her result as Abnegation before shoving her out the door and warning her that she is a threat to the government. At the Choosing Ceremony Caleb chooses Erudite while Beatrice selects the faction that’s always fascinated her most, Dauntless, leaving their parents Andrew (Goldwyn) and Natalie (Judd) childless instantly – Faction before Blood.

Beatrice’s initiation at Dauntless is merciless, jumping onto and from moving trains and completing a blind trust jump to enter their headquarters. She meets fellow Dauntless initiates Christina (Kravitz), Al, Will, and Peter (Teller), as well as her overly zealous leader-instructor Eric (Courtney), and their initiates instructor Four (James). The training is more intense than expected, and the newly named Tris (Beatrice, abbreviated) has her hands full trying to stay in contention while remaining under the radar as a Divergent, government’s biggest perceived threat.

Shailene Woodley’s performance as Tris is not far off from Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss, the only difference in my mind being the source material. Divergent is an interesting movie that feels a little shallow after all is said and done. The moments that Tris gives herself to the Dauntless mind-set are far more exciting than those featuring society’s salvation, and it’s hard imagining this type of society to sustainably work at all. The Hunger Games delivered a great spectacle with a wonderful social commentary subtext, while Divergent is interesting and enjoyable to watch but doesn’t delve much deeper into the characters’ motivation and the overarching themes as it could have. We’ll have to wait and see where this story goes with the next instalments, Insurgent and Allegiant. For now however, we can sit back and enjoy Divergent as a good start to a potentially promising trilogy.