By Lexy Perez
Staff Writer
A teen heroine living in a dystopian society realizes a need for their corrupt government to be taken down. Throw in some action sequences, impressive visual effects, young up and coming actors/actresses, a love story and a best-selling novel as inspiration and you have the formula for a successful Hollywood blockbuster.
Centered in post-apocalyptic Chicago, Veronica Roth based her story on a dystopian society where citizens are divided among five groups (factions) according to their identities: the Selfless “Abnegation,” the Honest “Candor,” Peaceful “Amity,” Knowledgeable “Erudite” and the Brave “Dauntless.” In their society, they evaluated every coming of age teen through testing in order to determine which faction they belong in. Abnegation-born, Beatrice “Tris” Prior (Shailene Woodley) learned that her results were inconclusive. This causes her to be “Divergent,” someone that the government cannot easily manipulate and control. Eager to keep her identity hidden, Tris claimed Dauntless as her chosen faction and must not only prevent the government from discovering her threatening identity. However, she must prove she is Dauntless worthy. While fans of the novel eagerly anticipated the screen adaptation, it was disappointing that the movie missed pivotal moments in the novel or rushed and wrongly reinterpreted them. The film attempted to appeal to both the dedicated book fans and new audience members. However, it was frustrating that it based its plot with the assumption that fans will infer story components not explained throughout the movie, leaving new fans confused about the overall plot. Although an imperative component of the novel is the love story between Tris and Tobias “Four” Eaton (Theo James), their playful, romantic chemistry seemed rushed in the film adaptation.
Even with a cast of rising young actors (Woodley, James, Miles Teller and Zoe Kravitz) the film overall failed to create the emotional attachments that the novel developed. Rather than be the enemy of Tris, Peter (Teller) was more as an immature boy only present to add a comedic appeal. Maggie Q portrayed Tori, a trusted confidant in the novel, as a distant stranger. The only characters shown with accurate depictions and steady character development were the two main characters. Although starring in her first leading role, Woodley proved she had the potential to be more than an American teenager living a secret life. The film demonstrated that she was capable of being an admirable heroine, conveying more emotions than other Hollywood actresses. Meanwhile, James was able to embody everything a YA leading man is supposed to convey: a masculine mysterious soul, with a kind heart, leading him on the path to becoming Hollywood’s new eye candy. With two more installments of the franchise, there is a potential for redemption. Fans can only hope that their beloved story can be better executed by abiding more truthfully to the novel, as well as to be respected amongst newcomers, for the underdog can always be rooted for.
3/5 Pas