DIVERGENT (2014) ****1/2 out of ***** or 9 out of 10
(Sign me up for Dauntless, please...)
CAST: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ashley Judd, Kate Winslet, Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, Zoe Kravitz, Jai Courtney, Tony Goldwyn, Maggie Q.
DIRECTOR: Neil Burger
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and some damn good arguments to sign up for any faction with Theo James and Shailene Woodley in it - straight ahead...
IT'S LIKE THIS: If the movies are to be believed, then we are totally fucked. In movies like THE HUNGER GAMES, THE HOST, ELYSIUM, OBLIVION, TOTAL RECALL and many, many others, our future is shown to be a dystopian, lawless wasteland of ravaged nations and cutthroat societies filled with mercenary power figures and barbaric citizens. Our latest review, DIVERGENT, takes a slightly kinder view - but not by much, folks...
You see, in the world of DIVERGENT, it is 200 years or so after a cataclysmic world war - and society has had some relative order restored - but at a price. That is, the world is now based on a strict system of "factions." Put simply, everyone has to join one of five groups: (1) Abnegation, the selfless faction that preaches modesty and selflessnness and service to others; (2) Amity, the peaceful faction that farms the land and does all things agricultural; (3) Candor, the outspoken faction that always tells the truth and therefore make the best lawyers and judges; (4) Erudite, the brainy faction that champions logic and knowledge and are jealous of the Abnegation faction who run the government; and last but definitely the most bad-ass: (5) Dauntless, the ballsiest of all the factions who provide the security and police services for the entire society.
In this world, you must choose your faction at the age of 18 during a fancy-schmancy ceremony. But only after you have been given an "aptitude test" that determines your predisposition for any one faction. The test identifies which group you should join. Such as: if you are kind and modest, it will tell you to join Abnegation; if you are good with manual labor and rugged, it will tell you to join Amity; if you are frank and outspoken, it will tell you to join Candor; if you are a snobby brainiac, it will tell you to join Erudite. And if you are an asshole with a death wish, it will tell you to join Dauntless. Oh, there's also a sixth test result, but it is a very rare one that people only whisper about - because getting it is basically a very,very bad thing. This very rare and very feared test result is called... Divergent. To be "Divergent" is to be suited to more than one faction, meaning you are "multi-talented." Which, to the powers-that-be, means that you cannot be controlled. And therefore you must be eradicated.
Enter our heroine Beatrice "Tris" Prior (Shailene Woodley). She grew up in the Abnegation faction, to loving and modest parents (Tony Goldwyn and Ashley Judd). And although she has always secretly admired the brave Dauntless faction, she fully expects to follow Mom and Dad's footsteps as modest civil servants. Except when she gets her Aptitude Test, Tris discovers that she is... Divergent. Oh, holy shit....
Tory (Maggie Q), the mysterious testing attendant, tells Tris to never reveal to anyone that she tested as a Divergent. She tells Tris to pick any faction - and hide within it and never tell anyone her true test resuts. Unfortunately, Tris picks the Dauntless faction, which Tory says is a mistake because the training may reveal that Tris is Divergent. And once that particular cat is out of the bag, it will be over for Tris. Very over.
As if that wasn't bad enough, Tris has to deal with the rigors of Dauntless training, which is just a little bit more enjoyable than root canal surgery without anesthesia. Let's just say that bruises are an everyday occurence in this training program. Actually, make that an hourly occurrence. It doesn't help that some of Tris' fellow Dauntless trainees are competitive assholes, like jackass Peter (Miles Teller), who grew up in the Candor faction (mystery solved). Fortunately, Tris has some much-needed moral support in the form of new pal Christina (Zoe Kravitz), who gives our heroine some nice sisterly advice.
There's also Tris' suprise guardian angel. He is none other than the ridiculously handsome Four (Theo James). Four is one of Tris' Dauntless trainers, and let's just say that he's got a serious woody for her. Oh, sure, he tries to be all gruff and mean and surly and standoffish to her, but I know a stolen "I-want-to-fuck-the-shit-out-of-you-so-bad" glance when I see one. And, boy, does our boy Four keep tossing our gal Tris these little looks. To be fair, she gives the same looks right back at him. Can you blame her? After all, Four looks just like Theo James and if I were Tris I would be milking that pipe, 24/7.
Before our hottie leads can get into some serious rumpy-pumpy, though, Four gets wind of some sinister rumblings going on in the Erudite faction. Remember them? The Brainy Assholes? Well, as I mentioned before, the Erudites want to take control of the government from the modest Abnegators. Presumably, so they can force everyone to read more books and stop giving each other smoldering, "I-want-to-fuck-you-so-bad" looks (yes, I'm talking about you two, Tris and Four). To make matters even more sinister, Tris' brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort) chooses the Erudite faction, effectively making him one of the bad guys...
So... is there a coup attempt brewing in the Erudite faction? Are they planning to use one or more of the other factions to help carry out their dastardly deeds? If so, which one? Abnegation? Amity? Candor? Dauntless? And what about Tris' true nature of being a Divergent? What if someone finds out that she has more than one talent? Will she be endangered? And why is Four so protective of her? What do all those looks convey? Could he possibly be... oh, my god... could he also be... Divergent? Will these two Divergents get together and, uh, diverge each other all night long until they can't walk straight the next day?
My, it's getting hot in here....
BUT SERIOUSLY: With the successful release of TWILIGHT and its equally-successful sequels, all based on "Young Adult" novels, many similar books were rushed into production to capitalize on this new and suddenly-hot trend. Of all the movies based on YA books that followed in TWILIGHT's profitable wake, only THE HUNGER GAMES and its sequel have seen success, easily surpassing that of the TWILIGHT movies. All others have essentially fizzled, with THE HOST, THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS, BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, WARM BODIES, and VAMPIRE ACADEMY all barely making a dent at the box office.
And now comes DIVERGENT, based on the bestselling trilogy by Veronica Roth that includes "Insurgent" and "Allegiant." The burning question is whether DIVERGENT will follow in the successful footsteps of THE HUNGER GAMES and TWILIGHT - or crash and burn like everything else that followed in their wake. Happily, the answer is the former. While DIVERGENT will likely not make as much as THE HUNGER GAMES and TWILIGHT because it is coming out late in the cycle of "Young Adult Adaptations" (or YAA), it is still currently doing terrific business at the box office, raking in around $56 million in its first three days (starting this past Friday). While critic reviews have been middling, audience polls at Cinemascore show a stunning A+ score - which shows the disparity between professional critics and regular moviegoers. Frankly, I loved DIVERGENT, and it is actually better than THE HUNGER GAMES, and much, much better than TWILIGHT.
Part of the reason DIVERGENT is faring much better than all the other YAA movies that have failed is because at its core is a compelling central idea: the need to belong vs. the need to be who you are. The world that director Neil Burger and novelist Veronica Roth have created is a vivid one that easily illustrates the concept of factions and the importance of being part of one - but also the burning need to be true to yourself. Even those who have not read the novels will very easily follow along and should find the idea of being married to one group for the rest of one's life - or risk alienation and exile - to be a very interesting one.
This is the reason I prefer DIVERGENT over THE HUNGER GAMES and TWILIGHT: its concept is fairly original. We've seen TWILIGHT's "human-loves-vampire" story done in many previous horror films and thrillers, and nothing about its execution was original. Similarly, THE HUNGER GAMES's concept of humans hunting each other as televised sport is a direct riff of BATTLE ROYALE, with elements of THE RUNNING MAN, DEATH RACE 2000, THE TENTH VICTIM, ESCAPE 2000, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME and many others. It is in its execution that THE HUNGER GAMES acquits itself: it's a gritty, emotionally-involving experience that is constantly anchored by Jennifer Lawrence's star power.
With DIVERGENT, however, we get an original premise as well as a dynamic execution. The idea of society being divided into five factions that one must choose and pledge into as a teenager is a great metaphor for "finding yourself" - a rite of passage that we all must go through, but is particularly relevant for teenagers today. Is it any wonder why the books by Veronica Roth became bestsellers? The themes that she tackles are ones that everyone can relate to. We can understand the need and pressure to find our own paths through the world and locate our own niches, more readily than we can undertand werewolves, vampires, and wilderness survival games.
DIVERGENT is also brought to bracing life by director Neil Burger and a terrific cast that is well-chosen, right down the line. Miles Teller, Zoe Kravitz, and Ansel Elgort as solid as the various pledges while Ashley Judd, Tony Goldwyn, Jai Courtney, and Ray Stevenson are equally riveting as the older members of society and the various factions. Kate Winslet effectively underplays in her villainous role of Jeanine Matthews, the Erudite leader who is willing to sacrifice anything and everything to keep order. Winslet wisely refrains from turning Jeannine into a cartoon villain, and instead paints her as a woman who has to make some hard choices to further her own agenda. Some critics have said that Winslet could have been more "evil" but we believe the best villlains are the ones who have some humanity in them. Maybe we will get to see Jeanine be more Machiavellian in the next two movies.
The best aspect of DIVERGENT, however, are its leads and the central romance that burns between them. One of the major weaknesses of THE HUNGER GAMES movies is their lack of chemistry between the leading lady and her two male leads. Jennifer Lawrence is smashing as Katnis Everdeen, but she has very little spark with either Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) or Kale (Liam Hemsworth). This served to undercut the effectiveness of those movies whenever they tried to be "romantic." With DIVERGENT, we have no such problems - because Shailene Woodley and Theo James are one steamy couple. This is one thing that most critics are in agreement with. In fact, there is a wonderful scene late in DIVERGENT where Four (Theo James) silently and secretly grasps Tris' (Shailene Woodley) hand in a crowded train. This simple gesture in this one scene alone packs more emotional power than all of the "romantic" scenes in either of THE HUNGER GAMES movies.
Shailene Woodley is one of my favorite actresses, ever since I saw her confident yet vulnerable turn as George Clooney's rebellious daughter in THE DESCENDANTS. She reminds me of Jennifer Lawrence but a lot more vulnerable and open. Woodley's Tris is different from Lawrence's Katniss in THE HUNGER GAMES. Tris is supposed to be a much more innocent and tentative character who finds her way to her calling as a warrior. Katniss already starts out as a wily hunter and becomes even more so because of the scenario she is dropped in. With Tris, we get to see a fighter created from scratch - and that is a more compelling spectacle. Woodley nails all of Tris' levels: modesty, compassion, vulnerability, courage, determination, and even some unexpected wit and humor. She is amazing, and we can't wait to see her continue Tris' journey in INSURGENT and ALLEGIANT.
As great as Woodley is here, though, we already knew about her significant talents from THE DESCENDANTS and THE SPECTACULAR NOW. Her leading man, however, is an unknown talent who takes a global center stage with this movie - and it's a smashing debut. Prior to this role, Theo James' most famous (or infamous) role was that of Kemal Pamuk, Lady Mary's (Michelle Dockery) ill-fated Turkish lover in Season One of DOWNTON ABBEY. James had supporting roles in the last UNDERWORLD movie and in Woody Allen's YOU WILL MEET A TALL, DARK STRANGER, but this is his first lead role in a big Hollywood film - and he basically scores a major goal that puts him squarely on Hollywood's map as a major talent to watch.
James has the same mysterious star quality that actors like Russell Crowe, Andrew Garfield, and George Clooney have: an almost supernatural charisma that is effortless and not based on handsome features (although that doesn't hurt) but, rather, an ability to command the room without saying a single word. Watch James' eyes in every scene: they seem to be speaking a language of their own. Indeed, much of the chemistry between Four and Tris is based on glances and gestures, and James' expressive dark eyes deliver ever last silent word with precision. Woodley has stated that the DIVERGENT production auditioned hundreds of actors before finally hitting gold with James, who is part-Greek, part-British. No other actor who tried out for the part could quite nail the combo of "strong-and-formidable-yet-fragile-and-vulnerable" which the role of Four required. Happily, Theo James is tailor-made for the part, because he is more than just a handsome face. Or as James himself once said in an interview: "I sometimes get a part because of how I look, but hopefully I keep the part because of how I perform." Amen, brother. We look forward to not only Theo James continuing the evolution of Four in INSURGENT and ALLEGIANT, but also other projects that will no doubt showcase his talents even further.
In the end, DIVERGENT is probably the best (to us, anyway) of all the YAA movies. It leaves TWILIGHT in the dust, and while it may not have the grit and pedigree of THE HUNGER GAMES, it is still a more compelling and emotionally-engaging experience. Along with THE LEGO MOVIE, DIVERGENT is the best movie of 2014. Critics may disagree, but that Cinemascore of A+ clearly shows that DIVERGENT is hitting a chord with mainstream audiences. Go, Tris and Four!
