Divergent

It's amazing how cut throat the world of adapting teen-oriented novels has become in Hollywood.  The past few years alone has been met with a wide variety of shattered franchise dreams, when the initial film adaptation that was supposed to trigger a series crashed and burned at the box office.  For every Twilight or Hunger Games, there have been just as many failed attempts.  Does anyone even remember The Mortal Instruments or Vampire Academy?  Now comes Divergent, based on the novels by Veronica Roth.  While it's too soon to tell, I think this film has a chance to carry on into a full series.  It features a likable lead, some interesting ideas, and a compelling futuristic world that personally sucked me in more than the one depicted in the Hunger Games series.

Like a lot of adaptations of Young Adult fiction, we're treated to a lot of exposition early on that explains the world we're about to enter, so that those not familiar with the books won't feel left out.  Fortunately, unlike some other past efforts, it flows by pretty quickly and doesn't border on self-parody by over-explaining every detail.  The world of Divergent is set in a post-apocalyptic Chicago, which is largely in ruins due to some global war that is not really explained in much detail.  A massive wall has been constructed around the border of the city to keep the few survivors who live within the city safe from whatever may be lurking out beyond the border.  The people within this society are divided into one of five groups.  Each of the groups focus on one specialty or virtue, such as knowledge, kindness, agriculture or strength.  The groups (which have names such as Erudite, Dauntless, Abnegation, Amity, and Candor) generally work together to keep the society running, although we can tell early on that there are some cracks starting to form within the "perfect" system, with the Erudites (intellectuals) plotting to overthrow the other classes and assume control.

The teenagers in this society are given a test to determine which path and group they will follow for the rest of their life.  Sometimes it can be the same society as their parents that they grew up in, and sometimes it's not, and they are never allowed to see their family again.  If you take the test, and cannot be placed into one of the five categories, or you hold multiple traits and specialties, you are known as a Divergent.  They are considered dangerous, because they don't fit the system, and thus are hunted down.  During the opening moments of the film, our heroine Tris Prior (played by a very likable Shailene Woodley) learns that she is a Divergent when she tries to take the placement test.  She is advised to keep the test results a secret from her parents, a pair of Abnegation leaders (played by Ashley Judd and Tony Goldwyn), as well as the rest of the world.  When she must undergo the ceremony where she announces which faction she will follow, she chooses the athletic Dauntless, who serve as soldiers in the society.

A majority of the film deals with Tris undergoing the grueling training program for the Dauntless, which seems to be a combination of military boot camp and mixed martial arts training.  During training, she makes some friends, such as the sweet natured Christina (Zoe Kravitz), as well as some enemies, like the smug and smarmy fellow recruit, Peter (Miles Teller).  Interestingly enough, Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller played young lovers in last year's underrated The Spectacular Now.  Here, playing rivals, we see that their antagonistic chemistry is just as good as their romantic connection was in the earlier film.  Most importantly, however, Tris meets the handsome Dauntless instructor, Four (Theo James), who not only takes her under his wing during training, but the two also develop a romantic relationship.  This is one area where Divergent fortunately differs from most of the other Young Adult adaptations, in that there is no love triangle muddling the plot.  It also helps that both of the young actors are likable in their respective roles, and work well when together.

While Tris completes her training, she seems to be under the constant careful watch of a Erudite named Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet).  It seems that Jeanine suspects that young Tris may be a Divergent, and this fact could be dangerous to her plan for her faction to become the dominant ruling power in the society.  Seeing the usually warm Winslet playing such an ice-cold villain type is an interesting change of pace, and she handles it quite well.  I actually wanted to know more about the political power struggle going on behind the scenes, as the movie seldom slows down long enough to explore it.  Despite a nearly two and a half hour running time, there does seem to be some crucial information about this society and how it is run missing.  Having not read the books the film is based on, I can't say if this is because the author didn't go into much detail, or if the screenplay intentionally left it out, and focused on the action instead.  Whatever the case, I felt like I needed more information, and I hope it is explored deeper in future installments.

What does work in Divergent, and what drew me in, is both the character of Tris, as well as the performance by Woodley.  She comes across as vulnerable, human, and even manages a sense of humor from time to time, which is more than you can say for the mopey Bella from the Twilight series, or even the overly-serious Katniss from The Hunger Games.  Even during the film's final half hour, when Tris is acting as a total butt-kicking, knife-throwing heroine against a corrupt faction staging a hostile take over, Woodley still manages to find the humanity in the character.  She is strong, but is given ample time to react to people she loves getting hurt, as well as reflecting on her own violent actions at times.  I'm looking forward to seeing the character grow in the future installments, and hopefully I will not be disappointed.

I can't say for certain whether I will be with this series to the very end (there are two more films on the way if this does well), but for now, Divergent got me caught up enough in its world and its main character that I am cautiously optimistic.  Hopefully Tris will be treated well in her further adventures.  The kid's got a lot of potential, as does the young actress who plays her.

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