AnxiouslyBold

I took a trip to the cinema (for the first time in absolutely ages) to watch Divergent. I didn’t really know what to expect, all I’d heard was that the books were really good–akin to the Hunger Games, a triology I absolutely adore. SPOLIERS AHEAD.

I might as well start with the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed this film! It was right up my alley and it made me wish I had read the books beforehand because I know now that I would absolutely love them. I enjoyed the unfamiliar but not completely inconceivable world in which the story was based. I think most of my favourite types of stories/films/shows take place somewhere outside of the norm but are not so far removed from my reality that I can’t empathise with the characters and the situations they find themselves in. Divergent seems to create a really beautiful world that I enjoyed being a part of for the duration of the movie.

There were definitely things I didn’t understand such as what was beyond the wall that they had built (presumably not white walkers although it did feel very GoT-esque). I was also a bit confused about the five groups, what they were called and what they stood for, I think the film could have afforded more time establishing this at the beginning… I think Candor got maybe three mentions throughout the entire film. I also didn’t really understand why Erudite and Dauntless would team up  like that, or if Erudite had just brainwashed all the Dauntless leadership? Why do they hate Abnegation? And if they really wanted them to stop being the governing body then why do they need to kill them all? It seems a bit excessive to me. If they’ve murdered a whole faction how would Amity and Candor have felt about that? I think my biggest qualm was with the extremes of the factions. Where have these super human people with one single attribute come from? Why aren’t they all divergent? Why aren’t there more factionless people? Also… where are all the old people in the dauntless faction? Do they all die before they get old or do they become factionless when they are no longer useful? That’s not very faction before blood, is it?

Oh oh oh and most importantly, WHY DO ALL THE MALE CHARACTERS LOOK THE SAME? I kept getting Peter and her two friends mixed up the entire time. Poor casting choice there.

These are all crazy questions I ponder after a film like that and in a way I’m almost glad I hadn’t read the book before seeing the film because it means that I can properly notice these flaws in the film (the way that people did with the Harry Potter movies which made perfect sense to me purely because I had read the books). I think it’s interesting to see them in a different light.

All of my confusions aside it didn’t really affect my enjoyment of the film, there was just so many good things about it! The story was interesting, I found myself getting really involved and interested in the world that had been created. Less than fifteen minutes in I was already whispering “Which faction would you be in?” to my boyfriend, to which he responded “I have no idea what they all are” — evidence to prove my point above! I wanted to see more about these fear landscapes and learn more about how the other factions worked, I just felt myself getting so invested and intrigued. I enjoyed the balance between the romance and the action in the film, with some absolutely brilliant moments throughout and although it was definitely more of a girly film than not, I’m pretty sure Ashley enjoyed it more than he thought he would which is a result in my book!

I have to give a special mention to my favourite moment of the entire film, when Tris’ mum died. Now I realise that sounds awful because yes it was a truly tragic moment but it was incredible. The staging, the cinematography, the acting. I really believed it. I had never seen Shailene Woodley, the actress who plays the main character Tris, in anything before but she is just exquisite in this. Firstly and on the most basic level, I love her look, it’s not what you expect of a leading lady but she’s so beautiful in her own way. Secondly and much more importantly, she’s a wonderful actor and she makes me even more excited for The Fault in our Stars movie. Because in that moment, that moment when she was screaming at them to stop, it was completely real and heartbreaking and it stayed with me. If I had been watching that moment in the comfort of my own home I would have been sobbing, it made the whole movie.

Needless to say I’m going to be purchasing the books very soon!

xx

Veronica Roth Website || Divergent Official Website || Shailene Woodley