Divergent (2014)

Divergent Review

By Emily Hubbard

A film with many similarities to its YA siblings, but without their sparkle.

-          2.5/5 Cameras 🎥🎥.5

-         - Directed by: Neil Burger

-         - Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, and Kate Winslet

-          -Where to find it: Netflix

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A young girl fighting against an oppressive government in a post-apocalyptic world, where society is split into varying factions. Sound familiar? Remind you of a certain arrow-shooting, Jennifer Lawrence-looking brunette? That’s because this film is essentially The Hunger Games, just without the gripping fight to the death or the dresses that turn into fire.

Starring Shailene Woodley as Beatrice Prior (or Tris) and based on the 2011 bestselling novel of the same name by Veronica Roth, the film centres around the idea that everyone is predetermined to belong to one of five groups within society (six if you count the Factionless, the word for people who don’t fit into any group and are essentially the rejects of this particular fictional world). These five groups consist of; Abnegation (the selfless, and also the group in charge of the government); Amity (the peaceful); Candor (the honest); Dauntless (the brave), and Erudite (the intellectual). When the youth of this world turn 16 they undergo a psychological test to determine which faction they are best suited to. The results of this test, however, are made redundant almost instantly as the next day those who have undergone the aforementioned evaluation are allowed to freely choose whichever faction they wish to join, even if their choice does not correlate to the results of the test.

This is one of many plot holes within this film. Another, and a rather significant one in my eyes is that the audience is forced to believe that teenagers living in this otherwise dreary world would make the conscious decision to choose other groups that aren’t the emo-looking, roof-top jumping, tattooed Dauntless faction.

Much like many other films in the Young Adult genre, the film suffers from a rather predictable plot. However, unlike those who came before it (The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, etc.) Divergent lacks the flare to make it stand out. This leaves the film feeling as dull as the grey outfits worn by the Abnegation faction throughout the 2-hour 19-minute runtime.

Despite its flaws, Shailene Woodley gives the film a much-needed boost with her performance, adding the heart and character that this movie would have otherwise lacked. However, this is overshadowed by her budding relationship with Dauntless instructor Four (Theo James) who looks far too old to be in a relationship with a 16-year-old. (Upon research, I found out that his character is meant to be 18, although that doesn’t change the fact that he looks about 30).

On paper, Divergent has a lot of potential and a strong cast, but a weak script and a lack of originality force it to cower in the background of its more successful predecessors.