Review #20: Divergent

Release Date: March 21, 2014
Writer: Evan Daugherty, Vanessa Taylor, Veronica Roth (novel)
Director: Neil Burger

Logline: In a world divided by factions based on virtues, Tris learns she's Divergent and won't fit in. When she discovers a plot to destroy Divergents, Tris and the mysterious Four must find out what makes Divergents dangerous before it's too late. (Source IMDb)
Action Adventure, 139 min.
Bechdel Test: Passed all three tests.

Review

Remember when Sarah reviewed Frozen and she mentioned that I hate cartoons? I also hate anything set before 1920 or in some kind of utopian futuristic society.  That being said, I surprisingly enjoyed Divergent.

Is it the best movie I've seen this year? No. Would I watch it again? Probably not. But it was good for a it's-Saturday-night-and-I-feel-like-I-should-leave-the-house viewing.  Plus, the main guy is super good looking and there's a multitude of female characters.

The one thing I felt this movie lacked was a genuine development of relationships.  Because it was more plot driven than character driven, I never felt any empathy for the characters.  I didn't feel like rejoicing in the celebrations or crying in the devastations, I just accepted it as it came and that was that.

The characters themselves even seemed to have this same borderline apathetic response to their surrounding situations.  Deaths were barely mourned and friendships were hardly formed. I understand that delving deeper into the emotions of the these relationships and situations would have slowed down the plot but it still means I'll rate this a bit lower than I might have otherwise.

Final thoughts: This isn't the best movie but it's fun and you should probably see it if you want to stay culturally relevant.

PS. I wish more than anything that I had Shailene's hair.

Portrayal of Women: Tris, played by Shailene Woodley, is our heroine who must save herself and her fellow Divergents from being killed. She's brave, confident and kind, but she is also sometimes unsure of herself.  What  I appreciated about her is that she was able to push past her uncertainty due to her own determination to succeed.

She definitely had support from others, but ultimately, she was saving herself instead of waiting for someone else to come to her rescue.  This is especially apparent in her relationship with Four.  They develop more of a partnership as opposed to the classic "guy saves girl" dynamic.

The supporting cast is a good balance of male and female characters.  A woman even gets to be the villain!

Sisterhood Moment: The sisterhood moment I chose is actually the absence of a classic trope. When Tris stays over at Four's and returns the next day wearing his sweater, there is absolutely no teasing or jealousy from the other girls.

I expected the other girls to slut shame her but there was absolutely none of that.  That was an unexpected but welcome surprise.

Rating: 2 pregnant Kate Winslets and a life sized poster of Theo James for my wall

IMDb - Divergent (7.6)
Wikipedia - Divergent
Rotten Tomatoes - Divergent (40%)