Defining your purpose...

Rating: Null/10 (13 April 2014)

"Divergent" is about identity and purpose. It takes place in the future where order and control have been established by a rigid government. A society where conformity is derived by fear, societal factions were formed to contain individuals with particular character traits in a sub society. The contradiction of an individual's self-awareness in relation to their affinity toward conformity versus the pursuit of individuality or rebellion, if you will, prevails in this arena.
Neil Burger brings the characters to life as the heroine, Shailene Woodley as Tris, discovers her weaknesses, her strengths, vulnerability, aptitude, willingness and gift in a place where structure is necessary and freedom suppressed. Supporting actors fulfilled their positions in creating the perfect outlook of conformity due to societal disunion. The story was easy to follow in the development of a dystopian community where teenagers are required to take aptitude tests to identify what their true character is. Based on the explicit results, they are forced to choose to dedicate their lives to one of the five factions. Abnegation, where Tris and her brother Caleb are originally from, were raised to live humbly, avoid being vain, remain simple, without creative thought or expression, and avoid conflict at all cost. The Candor are responsible for regulations and law. The Erudite are the elite in knowledge, conservative, and have arrogant tendencies. The Amity are free spirits, happy, and not grounded to anything in particular. The Dauntless are brave soldier-like police enforcement who are trained to uphold the law. They have tattoos and piercings and are perceived to have a thrilling purpose. The faction-less are those who have no known identity or cannot be identified with any of the five factions. Tris, encounters a position of fear when she was advised not to reveal her true character trait. Her future unknown, she follows her gut and chooses a faction where she meets and is immediately drawn to Theo James as Four. To her surprise, what Tris imagined would be an adventurous and rewarding future, the untelling compromise of her decision brings her danger, destruction, pain, mistrust, deception, and need for survival.
The risks and consequences in equality to true life decisions are all too real, but the ability to succeed and overcome even under the most impossible circumstance carries the story with hope. As Tris proceeds to see the corruption in society where neither creativity nor expression of self is intolerable and opposing one's faction inexcusable, the story remains interesting as to see how hope, if any, will prevail.
The cast and characters were believable and interesting to what would be the targeted audience. The support and attraction between Tris and Four culminated in dark warehouses of their training grounds and certainly the development of their resistance from one another to their alliance in finding freedom. To be their true self and the mission to provide the same to others was to be embraced. The creation of a dystopian, futuristic society was depicted by the gaunt look of the faction-less, the damp, dingy, dark rooms and deserted cities of the where Dauntless spent their time, the seemingly untouched, buildings of where the Erudites resided, and the very modest, colorless walls of where the Abnegnation seemingly lived out their lives.
The camera shots and lighting certainly supported the development of what seemed to be a good societal idea to the danger of conformity and what lies ahead. It foreshadows what elements can come out of complete control and how each individual has a will to do what is needed to fulfill their purpose. The long shots of the run-down city represented the utter reality of the desolate state of conformity. Full shots of the characters developed the main characters which helped carry interest throughout the movie.