Divergent (film)

Divergent is a 2014 American science fiction action film directed by Neil Burger, based on
the novel of the same name by Veronica Roth. The film is the first installment in The
Divergent Series and was produced by Lucy Fisher, Pouya Shabazian, and Douglas Wick,
with a screenplay by Evan Daugherty and Vanessa Taylor. It stars Shailene Woodley, Theo
James, Ashley Judd, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Zo Kravitz, Miles Teller, Tony
Goldwyn, Maggie Q and Kate Winslet. The story takes place in a dystopian postapocalyptic version of Chicago] where people are divided into distinct factions based on
human virtues. Beatrice Prior is warned that she is Divergent and thus will never fit into any
one of the factions and soon learns that a sinister plot is brewing in her seemingly perfect
society.
Development of Divergent began in March 2011 when Summit Entertainment picked up the
film rights to the novel withDouglas Wick and Lucy Fisher's production company Red Wagon
Entertainment. Principal photography began on April 16, 2013 and concluded on July 16,
2013, with reshoots taking place from January 2426, 2014. Production mostly took place in
Chicago.
Divergent was released on March 21, 2014 in the United States. The film received mixed
reviews from critics, but reached the #1 spot at the box office during its opening weekend.
Since its release, the film has grossed over $288 million worldwide against its budget of $85
million, making it a financial success. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 5, 2014,
while the soundtrack and score were released in March 2014.
A sequel, The Divergent Series: Insurgent, is scheduled to be released on March 20, 2015 in
the United States.
Synopsis

"Divergent" is all about identityabout searching your soul and determining

who you are and how you fit in as you emerge from adolescence to adulthood.
So it's all too appropriate that the film version of the wildly popular young
adult novel struggles a bit to assert itself as it seeks to appeal to the widest
possible audience.
It's the conundrum so many of these types of books face as they become popculture juggernauts and film franchises: which elements to keep to please the
fervent fans and which to toss in the name of maintaining a lean, speedy
narrative? The "Harry Potter" and "Hunger Games" movieswhich
"Divergent" resembles in myriad wayswere mostly successful in finding that
balance.
In bringing the first novel of Veronica Roth's best-selling trilogy to the screen,
director Neil Burger ("Limitless") and screenwriters Evan Daugherty and Vanessa
Taylor have included key moments and images but tweaked others to

streamline the mythology and move the story along. The results can be thrilling
but the film as a whole feels simultaneously overlong and emotionally
truncated.
Folks who've read the book will probably be satisfied with the results, while
those unfamiliar with the source material may dismiss it as derivative and
inferior. (Stop me if you think you've heard this one before: "Divergent" takes
place in a rigidly structured, dystopian future where one extraordinary girl will
serve either as its destroyer or its savior.) But the performancesnamely from
stars Shailene Woodley and Theo James andKate Winslet in a juicy supporting role
always make the movie watchable and often quite engaging.
In the fenced-off remnants of a post-war Chicago 100 years from now, society
has been broken down into five factionsgroups of people arranged by a
primary, defining trait. The Amity are happy, hippie farmers who dress in
shades of sorbet. The Candor run the judicial system and value truth about all
else. The Erudite are the serious-minded scholars who wear conservative, dark
blue. The Abnegation are known for their selflessness and modesty. And the
pierced-and-tatted Dauntless are the brave soldiers who protect the city from
who knows what? Whatever the perceived threat is, it requires them to run,
scream and practice parkour wherever they go.
Woodley's Beatrice Prior is a member of the Abnegation alongside her brother,
Caleb (Ansel Elgort), and their parents (Ashley Judd and Tony Goldwyn). They dress
in drab colors, eat simply and are only allowed to steal a quick glance in the
mirror once every three months when it's time for a haircut. Basically, they're
no fun, and Beatrice has a wild streak in her that she's been forced to
suppress.
When she undergoes the aptitude test required of all teens, which determines
which faction is the best reflection of one's true nature, her results are
inconclusive. She's got pieces of a few different places in her, which makes her
what's known as Divergent, which makes her dangerous. Thinking for yourself
is a naughty thing in this world, apparently; plus, the angsty inner conflict that
rages within Beatrice is something to which the target audience for the book
(and the movie) surely can relate.
At the annual Choosing Ceremony, where the teens use their test results to pick
the faction they want to join for the rest of their liveslike the last night of
sorority rush, mixed with the "Harry Potter" sorting hatBeatrice dares to
choose Dauntless. This means she can never see her family again. (Man, the
rules are strict in dystopian futures.) But it also means she gets to train to
unleash the bad-ass that's been lurking inside her all along.
Renaming herself Tris, our heroine must learn how to fight, shoot, jump from
moving trains, throw knives and control her mind in a series of harrowing
simulations, all while competing against a couple dozen other initiates in a
demanding ranking system. Eric (a coolly intimidating Jai Courtney) is the
merciless Dauntless leader who's taking the factionwhich was founded on the
notion of noble couragein a more militant and vicious direction.
But the hunky trainer who goes by the name Four (James) is the one who will
have a greater impact on the woman Tris will become. Quietly and generically
brooding at first, James reveals more depth and shading to his conflicted
character as the story's stakes increase. He and Woodley have an easy

chemistry with each other, but the romance that took its time and smoldered
on the page feels a bit rushed on the screen.
Similarly, the supporting figures who had identifiable personalities in the book
mostly blend into the background here, including Tris' best friend, Christina
(Zoe Kravitz). But it is extremely amusing to see Miles Teller, who played
Woodley's first love last year in the wonderful "The Spectacular Now," serve as
her enemy here as the conniving fellow initiate Peter. The smart-alecky Teller
is also the only actor here who gets to have much fun. With the exception of a
few major set piecesthe zip-line ride from the top of the John Hancock Center,
for example"Divergent" is a rather dark and heavy endeavor.
Woodley, though, by virtue of the sheer likability of her presence, keeps you
hanging on, keeps you rooting for her. She may not have the blazing, rock-star
power of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss in "The Hunger Games," but there's a subtlety
and a naturalism to her performance that make her very accessible and
appealing. And when she needs to crank it up and kick some buttas she does
in a climactic scene with Winslet as the evil Erudite leader who's hell-bent on
eradicating Divergents and maintaining controlshe doesn't oversell it.
Plus, there could be worse role models for the eager adolescent audience than
a young woman who's thoughtful, giving and strongall at once. The inevitable
sequel will show us what else she's got in her.

Plot
In a futuristic dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions: Abnegation (the
selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), and Erudite (the
intelligent). Members join a faction based on their preference but are initially given a
suggestion by an aptitude test. Beatrice Prior (Shailene Woodley) has grown up in
Abnegation, the faction that runs the government, yet has always been fascinated by
Dauntless. Her father, Andrew (Tony Goldwyn), serves on the ruling council along with the
head of Abnegation, Marcus Eaton (Ray Stevenson).
Every year, 16-year-olds undergo a serum-based aptitude test that indicates the faction into
which they would best fit, and informs their choice at the Choosing Ceremony. Beatrice takes
the test with a Dauntless woman named Tori (Maggie Q) as her proctor. Her test shows
attributes of three factions (Abnegation, Erudite and Dauntless), meaning she is Divergent.
Tori records her result as Abnegation and warns her to keep the true result a secret, telling
her that since Divergents can think independently and the government therefore cannot
control them, they are considered threats to the existing social order.
The next day at the Choosing Ceremony, Beatrice's brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort) chooses
Erudite, while with hesitation, Beatrice chooses Dauntless. After the ceremony, Beatrice
meets Christina (Zo Kravitz) and Al (Christian Madsen), two Candors who chose Dauntless,
and Will (Ben Lloyd-Hughes), an Erudite who also chose Dauntless. The Dauntless initiates

are given tests such as jumping from a moving train and taking a leap of faith from a tall
building into a large dark hole. During these tests, the initiates meet Eric (Jai Courtney), a
brutal leader of Dauntless, and Four (Theo James), the transfer initiates' instructor. Beatrice
volunteers first to jump off the building and leap into the hole, which has her branded as First
Jumper. After the jump, when Four asks her name, Beatrice decides to shorten it to "Tris."
Tris initially struggles in Dauntless training, ranking 32nd out of 33 after the first evaluation,
but slowly improves. After being forced to fight her enemy Peter (Miles Teller) and being
hospitalized, Tris almost fails out of Dauntless, but redeems herself by playing a key role in
winning a capture-the-flag game.
After the physical stage of Dauntless training, the initiates are put into simulations in order to
face their fears. Tris' divergence allows her to excel at these tests, but Four, who begins a
relationship with Tris, warns her to conceal the reasons behind her success and to solve the
challenges the way a true Dauntless would.
Tris visits her brother, Caleb, in Erudite, who tells her that Erudite is planning to overthrow
Abnegation and become the ruling faction. On her return to Dauntless headquarters, Tris is
attacked due to her success in training, with Peter, Al, and Drew attempting to throw her into
a chasm. She is eventually rescued by Four. The next day, Al pleads with Tris for her
forgiveness but she refuses and calls him a coward. Later, she is shocked to learn Al has
killed himself by jumping into the chasm.
In preparation for her final test, Four takes Tris into his own fear simulations, where she finds
out that one of his fears is taking orders he doesn't want to do. She also finds out that his
real name is Tobias, and he is the son of Abnegation leader and head of government, Marcus
Eaton. After the simulation, Four and Tris realize their feelings for each other and share a
romantic kiss. When the day of the test comes, Tris passes without revealing she is
Divergent. During the post-test celebration, the Dauntless are injected with a serum which is
said to be administered as a tracking device, but which is revealed to be a mind
control serum.
Controlling the heavily armed members of Dauntless through the serum, Erudite manipulates
them into attacking Abnegation. Divergents are unaffected, so Tris and Four have to blend in
and act as though they are affected by the serum. During a raid at Abnegation, Eric spots that
Four is not under mind-control, and Four and Tris are caught and separated. Tris' mother
Natalie (Ashley Judd) appears and rescues Tris, but dies while doing so. During the escape,
Tris is forced to kill Will when, under the effects of the serum, he attacks her. To stop
Erudite's plan, Tris, her father, brother, and Marcus sneak into the Dauntless headquarters.
Seeing that Peter is not under the serum, Tris orders him to take them to Erudite's operations
room. Her father sacrifices himself in a shootout. Tris goes in alone and finds Four, who is

now under a more advanced form of mind-control that works even on Divergents. After a fight
she manages to wake him from his stupor, knowing he cannot shoot her while looking at her
face, for that is one of his fears. Erudite leader Jeanine (Kate Winslet) is about to start the
protocols that will make Dauntless kill every Abnegation. Before Jeanine pushes the button,
Tris intervenes by throwing a knife that stabs Jeanine's hand. Tris can't make Jeanine abort
the program and Tris can't kill her since she knows the code. Instead, she injects Jeanine
with the serum and orders her to stop the program. She does and when everyone is released
from mind-control, she realizes it and attacks Tris. Tris knocks her out and escapes
Dauntless with Caleb, Peter, Four, and Marcus on the train, intending to ride to the end of the
tracks.

Cast

Theo James as Tobias "Four" Eaton

Theo James was born on December 16, 1984 in Oxford,

Oxfordshire, England as Theodore Peter James Kinnaird
Taptiklis. He is an actor, known
for Divergent (2014),Underworld: Awakening (2012) and The
Inbetweeners Movie (2011)

Shailene Woodley as Beatrice "Tris" Prior

Actress Shailene Woodley was born in Simi Valley, California, to
Lori (Victor), a middle school counselor, and Lonnie Woodley, a
school principal. She has one brother, Tanner. She was
educated at Simi Valley High School in California. When
Woodley was four years old she began commercial modeling

 Ansel Elgort as Caleb Prior

Ansel Elgort is an American actor, known for playing the
male lead, Augustus Waters, in the romance The Fault in
Our Stars (2014). Ansel was born in New York City, to
photographer Arthur Elgort and opera director Grethe
Barrett Holby. His father is of Russian Jewish heritage,
while his mother has English, German, and Norwegian
ancestry.

Ashley Judd as Natalie Prior

Jai Courtney as Eric

Ray Stevenson as Marcus Eaton

Zo Kravitz as Christina

Miles Teller as Peter Hayes

Tony Goldwyn as Andrew Prior;

Maggie Q as Tori Wu

Mekhi Phifer as Max

Kate Winslet as Jeanine Matthews

Ben Lloyd-Hughes as Will

Christian Madsen as Al

Amy Newbold as Molly Atwood

Movie scene divergent