It is rare when a movie is able to cohesively capture the themes that have pervaded our culture, yet still entertain its audience — and that should not be ignored. “Divergent” is that movie, based on the popular book trilogy by Veronica Roth. It follows a 16-year-old girl named Tris (Shailene Woodley) who is trying to figure out who she is and where she belongs.
PROMOTES INDIVIDUALISM IN CULTURE
“Divergent” is set in Chicago after a war that cripples American society. To keep the peace, everyone is split into five factions based on their personality traits — Dauntless, the brave; Erudite, the intelligent; Amity, the kind; Candor, the honest; and Abnegation, the selfless. At age 16, adolescents are tested to see which faction they belong to based on their personality. Tris’ test identifies her as a divergent, someone who is a threat to the system because they cannot be defined by just one characteristic — she is brave, smart and selfless. Hiding her divergent identity, she embraces her wild side and chooses to leave her family in Abnegation to join Dauntless. The first half of the movie is about her training to become fearless and strong as she transitions into this new life and culture. However, Tris never feels like she belongs either in Abnegation or Dauntless.
The film dives into the theme of identity and how people cannot fit into a category. Each person is unique, and like Tris, they defy being defined by a singular characteristic. The film is also highly indicative of today’s American culture because it promotes individualism — the idea that you do not have to conform to culture, but you can be whoever you want to be. Another theme that is prevalent, yet not as prominent is that knowledge is power, but absolute power corrupts absolutely. This is shown though Kate Winslet’s character, the leader of the Erudite faction. Erudite decides that they, not Abnegation, are the most capable of running the government. They decide to brainwash the people of Dauntless into killing Abnegations and divergents, which ensues during the second half of the movie.
Oh yeah, and while Tris is worrying about whether she will be discovered as a divergent, training for this new faction and getting her butt kicked all the time, she pursues a steamy love connection with her instructor, Four (Theo James), who seems to understand her better than she realizes. James captures the hearts of fans everywhere in this role, as the chemistry between him and Woodley is electrically tangible. Both lead actors give outstanding performances in this film, but they are not alone. They have a brilliant cast behind them that is able to completely immerse the audience in this beautiful, violent, emotional, futuristic mess of a world.
NEGATIVE PRESS SURROUNDING FILM
This film has received a lot of negative press because of its resemblance to “The Hunger Games,” but it is unfair to compare the two and automatically deem “Divergent” as a cheap “Hunger Games” knock off. “Divergent” has a life, a plotline and themes all its own that I found to be highly entertaining. So what if they both have female leads in a futuristic, dystopian society? That is where the comparisons stop.
Other than maybe leaving out some clarifying details that probably just did not make the cut from novel to script, the movie was absolutely fantastic. I was 110 percent engaged the entire time. If you like action, adventure, romance, or even the inner workings of people and personality theories, this movie is for you. Even if you have not read the books yet, the movie will definitely whet your appetite for what else Roth has in store.
