PG-13
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Action
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Adventure
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Sci-Fi
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21 March 2014
(USA)
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 film 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, Zoë Kravitz, Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q, Mekhi Phifer, Jai Courtney, Miles Teller, and Kate Winslet.
The story takes place in a dystopian post-apocalyptic 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. She soon learns that a sinister plot is
brewing in her seemingly perfect society. The film was released on March
21, 2014, in the United States. A sequel, Insurgent, is scheduled to be released on March 20, 2015.
Plot
In a futuristic dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions:
Abnegation (selfless), Amity (peaceful), Candor (truthful), Erudite
(intelligent) and Dauntless (brave), based on their personalities.
Beatrice Prior (Shailene Woodley)
is in Abnegation, the faction that looks after the poor and the
factionless, as well as runs the government; though she 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).
Young 16-year old citizens have undergone aptitude test using a serum
to indicate which faction they would really fit and which they would
need to choose on the Choosing Ceremony. Beatrice takes the aptitude
test with Dauntless woman Tori (Maggie Q)
as her proctor. Her test has resulted different attributes of several
factions (Abnegation, Erudite and Dauntless), which means she is
Divergent. Since Divergent people can think independently and government
cannot conform their thinking, they are considered threats to the
social orders. These are the reasons why Tori warns her to keep her true
test results a secret.
The next day at the Choosing Ceremony, Beatrice's brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort) chooses Erudite while Beatrice chooses Dauntless. Right after the ceremony, Beatrice meets Christina (Zoë Kravitz) and Al (Christian Madsen), two Candors who chose Dauntless, and Will (Ben Lloyd-Hughes),
an Erudite who also chose Dauntless. Dauntless initiates were put to
tests such as jumping off from a running train at full speed, and
leaping of faith from a tall building into a large hole. During these
tests, initiates meet Eric (Jai Courtney), a brutal and youngest leader of Dauntless, and Four (Theo James),
initiates instructor. Beatrice is the first initiate who leaped from a
building; this has branded her as First Jumper. After jumping, Four asks
for her name, Beatrice shortens it to "Tris".
Tris struggles in Dauntless training, but as it progresses she slowly
improves. After being forced to fight with her enemy Peter (Miles Teller)
and being hospitalized, Tris almost fails out of Dauntless, but rescues
herself after 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's divergence allows
her to excel at these tests, but Four, who strikes up a relationship
with Tris, warns her that she must conceal the true reason behind her
success and solve the challenges using the methods a Dauntless candidate
would.
The next day, Tris visits her brother in Erudite, who explains to 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 attempt to throw her
into the chasm, but she is rescued by Four. The next day, Al pleads with
Tris and begs for her forgiveness but Tris refuses calling him a
"coward", Al then kills himself by jumping into the chasm. In
preparation for Tris's final test, Four takes Tris into his fear
simulations where she finds out his real name is Tobias, son of the
leader of Abnegation and head of government, Marcus Eaton. After the
simulation Four and Tris realize they have feelings for each other and
share a kiss. When the day of the test comes, Tris passes without
revealing she is Divergent. During the post-test celebration, the
Dauntless are then injected with a serum which is to be administered as a
tracking device.
The next morning Tris wakes up to realize the injection was actually a
mind-control serum that Erudite is using to manipulate Dauntless into
attacking Abnegation. As Divergent people are unaffected, Tris and Four
have to blend in. At Abnegation, Eric figures out that Four is not under
the simulation, which leads to both him and Tris being caught and
separated. Tris's mother Natalie (Ashley Judd)
shows up and rescues Tris but dies in the process. To stop Erudite from
killing Abnegation, Tris, her father, brother, and Marcus attempt to
sneak into Dauntless headquarters. Tris sees that Peter is not under the
serum and orders him to take them to where the Erudite set up their
operations. Her father sacrifices himself in a shootout. Tris goes in
alone and finds Four, whose mind control she is able to break. Jeanine (Kate Winslet),
leader of Erudite, is about to start to execute the protocols that will
make Dauntless kill Abnegation, but Tris stabs Jeanine through the hand
with a throwing knife, then injects her with the serum and orders her
to stop and delete the program. Tris, Caleb, Peter, Four, and Marcus
then flee Dauntless on the train, intending to ride to the end of the
tracks.
Cast
Shailene Woodley (Tris Prior)
Theo James (Four) 
Kate Winslet (Jeanine Matthews) 
Ansel Elgort (Caleb)
Development
In March 2011, Summit Entertainment picked up the rights for Divergent with Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher's production company Red Wagon Entertainment. Neil Burger was announced as the director on August 23, 2012. Evan Daugherty, who co-wrote the screenplay with Vanessa Taylor,
said, "I get hung up on the toughness of the movie but of equal
importance is the love story between Tris and Four. It's inherently and
inextricably linked to Tris' character journey. There will be plenty of
sexual tension and chemistry, but it's important that all of that stuff
doesn't just feel like it's thrown in, but that it all helps Tris grow
as a character." Daugherty further added, "It's tricky because the book is a very packed
read with a lot of big ideas. So, distilling that into a cool, faithful
two-hour movie is challenging. Not only do you have to establish five
factions, but you have to acknowledge that there's a sixth entity, which
is the divergent, and you also have the factionless. So there's a world
that really has to be built out for the big screen… the movie is going
to do it a little more efficiently." Author Veronica Roth
said about the script of the film: "Reading a script is a really
interesting experience. I'd never read a script before. I was really
impressed by how closely it stuck to the general plot line of the book."
Initially, the budget of the film was $40 million but later Lionsgate increased it to $80 million (which finally changed to $85 million) due to the success of The Hunger Games. Analyst Ben Mogil said, "Divergent is more similar to Hunger Games in that the company owns the underlying economics (i.e. production) and the budget (at $80[million]) is more manageable."
Casting
On October 22, 2012 it was announced that Shailene Woodley had landed the lead role of Tris Prior. Lucas Till, Jack Reynor, Jeremy Irvine, Alex Pettyfer, Brenton Thwaites, Alexander Ludwig and Luke Bracey were all considered for the role of Tobias "Four" Eaton. On March 15, 2013, it was announced that Theo James had been cast as Four.
Though James was 10 years older than the character when cast, Roth
praised his casting "I was sure within seconds: this was 'Four', no
question. Theo is able to capture 'Four's' authority and strength, as
well as his depth and sensitivity." She also mentions the chemistry
between him and Shailene: "He is a perfect match for Shailene's
incredibly strong presence as Tris. I'm thrilled!"
The producers said about his casting: "We took our time to find the
right actor to fill the role of Four, and Theo is definitely the perfect
fit. Veronica has crafted a truly iconic character in Four and we
cannot wait to begin production and bring him and this story to life for
millions of fans around the world."
Ray Stevenson, Jai Courtney and Aaron Eckhart were announced to be in talks to join the cast on March 15, 2013, Stevenson and Courtney joined the cast as Marcus Eaton and Eric, respectively. Kate Winslet was announced to be in talks on January 24, 2013. Later it was confirmed that she would portray Jeanine Matthews.
Talking about playing the negative character for the first time,
Winslet said, "I'm no idiot. The idea went through my head that I have
never played a baddie before, I was almost kind of surprised." Since
Winslet joined the filming late, she used that distance from her
co-stars to appear aloof on the first day of her shoot. "I wanted to
break it and say, 'It's OK, I'm really fun. I promise.' But I thought,
just for today, I'd let them think that I am a complete bitch."
Filming
Filming began in Chicago in April 2013 and concluded on July 16, 2013.
Virtually all production photography took place in Chicago; many of the
interior locations were filmed at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios. Scenes for the "choosing ceremony" were shot at 17th Church of Christ, Scientist, Chicago on East Wacker in downtown Chicago. Filming also took place at the Navy Pier Ferris Wheel; the entire area was treated with dirt and rust to appear more dystopian. Additional scenes were shot at 57th Street and Ellis Avenue near University of Chicago, at Federal Street where fake EL tracks were constructed and at Michigan Avenue.
For the Abnegation sector, the production team constructed the set on Wells Street in downtown Chicago. In late June, filming took place at 1500 S Western Avenue and 600 S. Wells Street, Chicago. In the last schedule, filming moved to the Chicago River and continued at Lake Street Bridge, Wacker Drive and LaSalle Street Bridge. Filming wrapped on July 16, 2013. However, on January 24, 2014, what is believed to be additional filming took place in Los Angeles and finished on January 26, 2014, which officially became the last day of shooting.
Post-production
Post-production work began after filming wrapped. On July 18, Summit and Lionsgate issued a joint statement announcing the film would be released in IMAX format: "We're delighted to continue our successful collaboration with IMAX, with whom we have already partnered on the global blockbuster Hunger Games and Twilight Saga franchises, and we're especially pleased that we can introduce our newest young adult franchise, Divergent, to the movie going public in the premium IMAX format that celebrates its status as a special and memorable event."
Music
Main article: Divergent (soundtrack)
The score for Divergent was composed by Junkie XL along with Hans Zimmer
(who executive produced the album). They both have previously worked
together on music of different films. The soundtrack for the film was
chosen by music supervisor Randall Poster. The original soundtrack was released on March 11, 2014 while the Original Score of the film was released on March 18, 2014, by Interscope Records.Marketing
The first image of Shailene Woodley as Beatrice "Tris" Prior was revealed by Entertainment Weekly on April A few seconds sneak preview footage of the film was shown at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. On June 7, Entertainment Weekly released a still of Theo James (Four) showing the Dauntless initiates around their new headquarters. The magazine released several more stills on July 19. On July 16, USA Today released the first image of Kate Winslet as Jeanine Matthews.24, 2013.
On July 18, 2013 Summit held a sold-out San Diego Comic-Con panel in Hall H. Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Maggie Q, Zoe Kravitz, Ansel Elgort, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Amy Newbold, Miles Teller, Christian Madsen, director Neil Burger, and author Veronica Roth attended the panel and answered fan questions along with showing them exclusive film clips.
On August 22, 2013 a sneak peek of the first teaser trailer was released by MTV. The full teaser was released on August 25, 2013 during the pre-show of the MTV Video Music Awards. Two official posters featuring Woodley and James as Tris and Four and highlighting their tattoos were released on September 23, 2013. Neil Burger released the full official trailer on November 13, 2013. On February 4, 2014 Shailene Woodley and Theo James released the final trailer for the film, during their appearance for film's promotion at Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
The marketing campaign for the film cost at least $50 million.
Release
On its first day of advance ticket sales, the film sold half of its tickets. It also became the biggest advance ticket seller on Fandango, surpassing by nearly five-fold Summit Entertainment's 2008 film Twilight.
Box office
As of April 2, the film earned a worldwide total of $108,629,140.
Critical response
Divergent has received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
gives the film a 41% Metacritic gives the film a score of 49 based on reviews from 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Audiences surveyed by Cinemascore were more receptive to the film,
giving it a CinemaScore grade of "A". The survey group was 69% female
and half of the audience was over 25.rating based on reviews from 165 critics, with an average score of 5.5/10. The site's consensus states: "With an adherence to YA formula that undercuts its individualistic message, Divergent opens its planned trilogy in disappointingly predictable fashion."
IGN's Matt Patches gave it 5.8 out of 10, citing its similarities to other young adult films and contrived Dauntless plot line. He praised lead actors Theo James and Shailene Woodley's performances, stating that they "...add personality and physicality to the limp script they're acting out." Scott Mendelson of Forbes magazine echoed these sentiments, arguing that despite Woodley's excellent performance, the generic story reduced a large portion of the mythology to irrelevancy. Mendelson believed that the film will please the novel's fanbase.
Sequels
View all videos
Divergent (Trailer 2)
Divergent (German Trailer 2)
Divergent (Tease Of New Trailer)
Divergent: Drowning
Divergent: Test (Tv Spot)
Divergent: Fighting Back (Tv Spot)
Divergent: Choice (Featurette) Divergent: If I Wanted To Hurt You
Divergent: Beauty In Your Resistance
Divergent: Shailene Woodley On Her Character
Divergent: Official Preview: Factions (Behind The Scenes)
Shailene Woodley And Theo James Take The Divergent Test
Shailene Woodley And Theo James Take The Divergent Test
Miles Teller, Jai Courtney And Ansel Elgort Take The Divergent Test
Divergent: Theo James On Complications Of Being Divergent
Tony Goldwyn And Ashley Judd Take The Divergent Personality Quiz
Edward Furlong
Keith David
