Divergent
The fly in the soup
Whenever someone speculates about the future, they do so from an apocalyptic or utopian perspective. The first predicts a destroyed world, with survivors fighting each other, while the latter imagines a modern and tranquil environment. Reality is likely to be a mixture of the two things, but nothing prevents fictionists from making their choice when creating their works, as is the case of “Divergent” (USA, 2014).
The film is based on the book of the same name by Veronica Roth. One hundred years after the destruction of society as we know it, the world gradually rebuilds itself. In the region where the city of Chicago once existed, the inhabitants organized a new society, based on the concept of Factions.
By studying the problems that had destroyed humanity, they believed that they would only be able to rise up if they cultivated the best qualities, complementing each other. For each fundamental problem, a group would be created that would combat that problem, and all groups would help each other, as a single body.
Thus, the Factions of Erudite were created, which dealt with the subjects of science and technology, Amity, which cultivated food and arts, Candor, which took care of legal affairs, Dauntless, which provided defense and discipline, and Abnegation, which cultivated altruism, and consequently was responsible for the administration of all.
Those who, for some reason, did not belong to any of these groups became a kind of outcast, a factionless, living outside the city limits, and working in the worst jobs, the ones no one else wanted.
Although the children were born and educated within their family factions, they lived with other boys in high school until they reached the age of 16, when they took an aptitude test, and chose which faction they wanted to belong to, which was considered a passage to adulthood.
It is exactly at this point that the teenager Beatrice (Shailene Woodley) is located. Born in the faction of Abnegation, the young woman feels uneasy about her future, because she does not feel identified with the way of life of her parents.
This uncertainty is confirmed in the aptitude test, when it proves to be suitable not only for one, but for three different factions! This scares the selector, Tori (Maggie Q), who explains that Beatrice is a Divergent, and that she should never reveal it to anyone, at the risk of her own life.
If the teenager was already confused, after that she gets even more. But at the faction’s choice ceremony, she decides for the most unlikely of all, Dauntless, while her brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort) chooses Erudite, much to the disappointment of their parents.
If the choice had been difficult for Beatrice, what would come next would be even more shocking. She discovers that she will have to undergo a hard training, at the end of which only the top ten ranked will remain as members of Dauntless, while the others will be banned as factionless!
The difficulties are immense, and novices must learn to fight and shoot, as well as face their worst enemies: their own fears. If, on the one hand, Beatrice befriends Christina (Zoë Kravitz) and Will (Well Lloyd-Hughes), she is immediately harassed by Peter (Miles Teller) and Molly (Amy Newbold), former members of Candor. The instructors leave for no less, especially the sadistic Eric (Jai Courtney) and the inflexible Four (Theo James).
Although fragile and unused to great physical efforts, Beatrice or Tris, who is the nickname she adopts, begins to stand out for daring and determination. But it is when they reach the stages of simulation that their performance is differentiated. It won’t be long before Quatro realizes she’s a Divergent.
But much greater concerns will come, as an underground conspiracy will lead the factions to fight each other, led by the powerful leader of the Erudite, Jeanine (Kate Winslet), and Tris must choose which side will be at the end.
If the reader found something like “Hunger Games” and “Twilight”, it’s not at all wrong. This film is based on the first volume of Veronica Roth’s Divergent trilogy (Divergent, Insurgent and Convergent) directed to youth audiences. This is well marked by the chaste environment, without any sexual daring – which would be common in a adolescent environment – but full of action scenes.
Despite treading around in a much-explored subgenre, “Divergent” brought something new by including psychotropic-induced simulations, not just technological challenges or monsters coming from space.
Director Neil Burger managed to get the most out of actress Shailene Woodley, a theatrical newcomer but a veteran of TV shows. In the same year she would get another success alongside Ansel Elgort, “The Fault in Our Stars” (USA, 2014), and would become the new darling of Hollywood.
Kate Winslet fulfills her role with ease, creating a great villain, but the inexpressive Theo James does not do very well as a protagonist, and after this film would stand out more on TV.
The costumes and the production are much poorer than those of “Hunger Games”, I believe more for budgetary problems than by the imagination of costume designers and decorators.
This film is aimed at young audiences, lover of action films with some romantic history. There were two more sequels, “Insurgent” (USA, 2015) and “Allegiant” (USA, 2016).
The three movies can be watched on the main streaming services, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and HBO MAX.