Divergent

Divergent – After a war has devastated the Earth, survivors living in Chicago (who may be the last of mankind) are separated into five factions: Abnegation (selfless), Amity (peaceful), Candor (justice), Erudite (science) and Dauntless (peace keeping). When Beatrice Prior, a member of Abnegation, takes her test to help her choose which faction to become a part of, she discovers that she is a ‘Divergent’, having the rare attributes that suit all factions. Knowing that Divergents are hunted down and killed, Beatrice must keep her true nature a secret. When she chooses to join the Dauntless faction, she realises that despite making several friends, she cannot completely trust them. When she discovers a plot to overthrow the current ruling council, she must decide who can be trusted and use her skills to stay alive and protect the people she cares about.

Divergent (2014) – Director Neil Burger

Rating: 12

Running Length: 139 mins

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet

Genre: Science Fiction, Drama, Romance

REVIEW: ‘DIVERGENT’

‘Divergent’ is based upon the novel of the same name by Veronica Roth – the first of a trilogy (and therefore it would be safe to assume that there will be at least two more films to complete the series). Seeming to take some inspiration from other popular Young Adult fiction, thankfully ‘Divergent’ manages to have its own identity without overtly copying other stories. What sets this movie apart from other, similar, teen films is its ability to portray a strong female character without making her self-centred or solely defined by her love life.

Shailene Woodley as Beatrice (which she later shortens to Tris) is a little bland but her performance is strong enough to carry the movie and the supporting cast are all excellent in their roles. The love story isn’t rushed into, making it very natural and genuine; having the character of Four being a little older than Tris means that his attraction to her does not seem superficial like many teen romances can be. Also, Tris’ distrust of those around her is believable when this is often handled badly, with the normal young adult fiction protagonist trusting everyone in their immediate vicinity and inevitably being betrayed.

While still remaining faithful to its target audience of young adults, ‘Divergent’ has enough plot and character development to appeal to an older audience making it much more interesting than the trailers would have you believe.

CONTENT: IS ‘DIVERGENT’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

In order to complete her test before the ‘Choosing Ceremony’, Beatrice is told to drink a small glass of blue liquid. When she does, the woman in the room with her disappears and she realises that there are dozens of reflections of herself in the mirrors. She then becomes aware of a large dog which snarls aggressively at her. It runs towards her to attack, she is initially afraid and runs from it but she is eventually able to control her mind and stop the dog from being a threat. This scene is quite creepy and may be a little scary for younger viewers.

The members of the Dauntless faction are all very reckless and full of bravado. They climb up the outsides of buildings and up steel structures as well as jumping onto the outsides of trains and leaping across rooftops. They all laugh loudly and appear to be having a great deal of fun. While this is over the top, it could potentially be appealing enough to impressionable young minds and we would therefore recommend caution for children who are susceptible to copying such things.

The training in the Dauntless faction is brutal and those who do not do well will become ‘factionless’, meaning that they will be homeless and destitute. The training includes bare-fist fighting which can only stop when one opponent is unable to get up, these fights are hard, graphic and many young people are punched to the ground. Both boys and girls are forced to fight each other and they are unable to hold back if their opponent is weaker than them; one boy kicks a girl in the face while she is on the floor and she is knocked unconscious.

Another part of the training involves guns which shoot small darts, the dialogue explains that these darts simulate the pain of a bullet and last for ‘a couple of minutes’. The trainees are split into two groups and then have to fight to reach each other’s flags. Lots of people are shot with the darts but these moments are not shown in detail. One character is shot twice which is shown on-screen but they are tough and they do not appear to suffer too much.

During her tests in the Dauntless faction, Tris is injected with a serum on a few occasions which force her to face her fears which include being attacked by crows and drowning. These fears and Tris’ reactions to them are not too extreme so should not be overly frightening but they could be a little intense for younger viewers.

Throughout the movie, there is a growing attraction between Tris and her trainer, Four. Tris, who has been fascinated by Four’s mostly hidden tattoo, asks to see it in full; this leads to him removing his shirt to reveal a large tattoo across the whole of his back which Tris gently touches. He then turns around and they share a tender but passionate kiss. Tris tells Four ‘I don’t want to go too fast’. Later in the movie, Tris imagines that Four is kissing her again. He then tries to remove her clothes and then aggressively pushes her onto a bed. She struggles against him and tells him to stop but he doesn’t until Tris fights him off.

One character is forced to hang from a walkway that spans a deep chasm by just their fingertips. It is clear that if they fall, they will be killed. This character struggles to hold on and although their friends are watching, none of them are able to help. Another character commits suicide by jumping into the chasm. The body is seen being hauled out of some water and although there is a small amount of blood, this is not gory.

It is revealed that one of the characters was physically abused by their father as a child. This is during the fear stage of training and the character is surrounded by several incarnations of their father, each one holding a different weapon; for example, a belt, a wooden stick and other such objects which the child would have been beaten with.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘DIVERGENT’ FOR KIDS?

Despite being marketed as a ‘teen movie’, ‘Divergent’ is a well acted and well directed film which has good pacing and is gripping from start to finish and will therefore also appeal to an adult audience. Due to the violence and the concept of people being hunted and killed because they are different, we feel that this movie is most appropriate for kids aged 10 and over.

• Violence: 4/5 (several innocent people are shot and killed, one character who has not previously been established is killed when they are not conforming with the others, this is not done onscreen as the camera focuses on the reaction of another. One character has a knife thrown into their hand and they cry out in pain)
• Emotional Distress: 3/5 (several established characters are killed and their deaths are mourned)
• Fear Factor: 3/5
• Sexual Content: 2/5
• Bad Language: 2/5 (some cursing and blasphemy, Tris is often referred to by a derogatory term ‘Stiff’)
• Dialogue: 3/5 (several mentions of people being hunted down and killed. Young people are threatened and forced to fight each other)  
• Other notes: Deals with themes of family, trust, oppression, rebellion, following orders, loyalty, using your strengths to overcome weakness and having the courage to stand against those who are stronger than you.
• Several characters are keen to get tattoos, this is done by a black panel being placed on the skin and when it is removed, the tattoo is left behind. There are no needles or pain associated with tattoos in this scene.

Words by Laura Record

[amazon_link asins=’0007591373′ template=’ProductAd’ store=’isthimovsui-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’90a35183-5c0e-11e8-aaac-1fabc6f79901′]