If the upcoming film line up is any indication, we’d have to say book adaptations take the lead this year, especially in young adult fiction. And with the latest release, Divergent, based on Veronica Roth’s best selling trilogy, it’s safe to say this genre is here to stay. Although Divergent stays pretty faithful to the books, the movie successfully delivers an engrossing story about a heroine’s struggle to find herself and question the status quo.
The film is set in battered Chicago still recovering from a catastrophic war a century ago. Here civilization is neatly divided into five factions: Abnegation (the selflessness), Erudite (the intelligent), Candor (the honest), Amity (the peace lovers) and Dauntless (the fearless warriors). Our heroine, Beatrice Prior (Shailene Woodley) has lived in abnegation all her life, trying to live within the ideals of her faction, but finding it difficult to fit in. However all this about to change as she and her brother Caleb (Ansel Algort) have turned 16, the age where each dependent must participate in the Choosing Ceremony and choose which faction they will join from thereon.
Unfortunately, it’s not an easy task. “Faction before Blood” is the motto here. And it’s one everyone must abide. So if they chose a new faction, they forsake their family and the live they had before. And if they don’t pass initiation, they’ll be forced to be factionless and live outside the boundaries of society.
Before Beatrice and the other dependents can even choose a faction, they have to take a test to determine which faction they belong. Basically it’s the SATS but with more permanent effects. The test is meant to be straightforward, and it is for most people, but not for Beatrice. She can’t be categorized into just one faction. They call this “Divergent”, a very rare category some people fall in, and a dangerous one to be in. The proctor, Tori (Maggie Q) is immediately alarmed by these test results, and warns her to keep it a secret.
Although weighed with the decision to stay with her parents (Ashley Judd and Tony Goldwyn) and live in a faction she’s never quite fit in, she decides to go to Dauntless instead.
Almost soon after, she’s pulled in to this new way of living, where she’s forced to jump off a moving train and volunteer to be the first to jump off a roof. Determined to embrace her new life, she shortens her name to Tris. She along with the other recruits including her new friend, feisty Christina (Zoe Kravitz), face tough physical training and mental tests to win the right to stay a Dauntless. All while trying to figure out why being Divergent is so dangerous.
It’s undeniable the power of Woodley’s compelling performance in the film. She shows us a Tris wrought with fear, yet brave and fearless to prove herself despite the opposition. There is a vulnerability in Woodley’s Tris that makes us feel outraged the moment she is unequally matched with the sadistic Peter (Miles Teller) in the fighting arena. But what’s what makes Tris such a remarkable character in the books is that despite looking small and weak, she exudes a strong-will that far outweighs her petite structure. And Woodley brings all this and more on screen, never letting us forget the strong and smart heroine Tris is. Kudos to Roth for creating such a strong female lead who refuses to let fear rule her life.
Normally we find ourselves skeptical about whether a film can successfully translate a book romance to the big screen. But to give credit to director Neil Burger, he did well on choosing Theo James for the role of Four and Tris’ love interest. Not only does he have the right combination of hardass, heartthrob and tortured soul we see Four have in the books, he also has a palpable chemistry with Woodley from the start. We love how this tentative romance is never overplayed, instead relying on a subtle depth necessary to keep us invested in this couple.
Now we can’t forget about Kate Winslet‘s role as the mad genius and Erudite leader, Jeanine Matthews. It was refreshing to see her cross to the dark side in a full-fledge villain status, delivering just the right intellectual brilliance and ice queen we expect in Jeanine.
With Woodley and James at the helm of this new dystopian franchise, we look forward to seeing what’s in store for their characters next.
Good movie!