The book to film adaptation of Divergent may have newcomers asking lots of questions but should meet the expectations of those who’ve read Veronica Roth’s first novel.
Divergent follows Tris as she decides to leave her family behind in the Abnegation faction for a more exciting life in Dauntless. Along the way she learns that she is Divergent, meaning she can’t fit into one faction. But what does it mean, and why does Jeanine want Divergents to be “eliminated” from society?
Those who are reading our review are coming to us to learn if it lives up to what they read by Veronica Roth.
The answer is yes. Divergent is an exciting, fast-paced (despite the 2 1/2 hour runtime), uplifting, emotional adaptation of its source material that we think will meet if not exceed reader expectations.
There are changes from the book, but like with any adaptation, that is to be expected. These changes (that we don’t want to spoil here) don’t negatively affect the story unless you’re someone who is paranoid about book to film differences.
Some of the most exciting adjustments – or should we say additions – involve Kate Winslet as Jeanine Matthews. Neil Burger personally added several scenes with Jeanine, and rightfully so. If you have Kate Winslet, you want to have her appear as much as possible. One additional scene at the end between Jeanine and Tris offers a surprising climax and finale that you probably won’t see coming. We’ll have more on these Jeanine additions in our one-on-one interview with Burger later this week.
Ellie Goulding is very present in the film for better or worse. A couple of songs off the singer’s most recent album Halcyon Days appear in the movie, and we were mixed on what this added to Divergent other than an appealing reason for fans of Goulding’s to head into the theater. It’s rare for more than one song by an artist to be included in a single movie, so it felt strange at times and made us think about the music more than the scene at hand. With that said, there was one scene with one of her songs that worked really well.
There were a couple of moments that came off as a tad too sappy or corny, and the audience in our theater (made up of critics and everyday young adults) couldn’t help but laugh at times in agreement with our feelings. With that said, we can’t be surprised that these types of moments come up because of the fact that this is YA. Corny lines and/or intimate moments between two lead characters like Tris and Four are inevitable and just add to the fun of the moviegoing experience.
For a general audience who haven’t read the book, there are a few big questions that may hurt their enjoyment of the film because they’re not explained enough. Why is it so important that the city’s population be divided into factions? What happened during the war that left Chicago in the state its in? Is the idea of being Divergent truly a threat? We get some answers to these questions, but we don’t see why they’re so important. Again, to someone who’s already read the book these questions don’t need detailed answering. The problem comes when you’re bringing the film to a newcomer.
Two feelings linger about Divergent: We want to see it again, and we loved the performances by Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Maggie Q, and Miles Teller in particular. Those are two things that are important to a film like this – one that is kicking off a three (maybe four) part film series. By the way, the most emotional moments came during the zip line scene and when Tris said goodbye to her parents at the beginning and end.
Any time a book series begins its jump onto the big screen, there’s a nervousness from readers about whether or not it can live up to the expectations set by the book. Can the popularity spawn a film series? Harry Potter succeeded. So did Twilight. The Hunger Games did as well. Unfortunately, recent attempts like Beautiful Creatures and The Vampire Academy did not. Can Divergent? Projections place this film performing on par with Twilight’s opening weekend, so the answer may be yes.
The first film in any series certainly has its flaws as the director and writers try to iron out the adaptation wrinkles. From the perspective of offering a wide appeal, we saw a big improvement with Catching Fire after Hunger Games and expect things to only get better between Divergent and Insurgent.
We believe that given its readership, this new dystopian franchise is too big to fail.
Grade: B
Rated: PG-13 (for intense violence and action, thematic elements and some sensuality)
Divergent opens in theaters on March 21, 2014.
