Divergent

Directed by:

Neil Burger

Starring:

Shailene Woodley

Theo James

Kate Winslet

The movie opens as a post-apocalyptic tale. The purgatoried greyness of everything is paralleled by the incessant vagueness of the back story, a vital element in all great movies of this genre – see The Book Of Eli, The Road, Mad Max etc. ‘’They’’, ‘’the founders’’, ‘’the war’'. The story is as vague as the post-war blurred skyline, this piques interest, this makes me want to see more. When the main character Beatrice utters the line “I’m supposed to never think to myself, to never look too long in the mirror”, this speaks to me as a sci-fi fan. I hear echoes of “The Island” in those words, I see images of “Equilibrium” running past my eyes. 

The film then takes a twist. In this beautifully crafted narrative we are told that children must choose their future based on whether they are smart, kind, honest, selfless or brave? The film is going well so far so we’ll ignore this ridiculous premise; it has earned it!

But it is here that the movie morphs and where my problem with the movie ultimately lies. We discover that all the men in this movie are one-dimensional, every single one. All the men in this movie fit into the categories of love interest, bully, coward or an annoying brother that just won’t listen. And then it hits you and it hits you hard. This is a chick flick.

Not that there anything wrong with that in itself. There is a place for chick flicks in this world but don’t insult my intelligence. Don’t hide behind the ideals of great post-apocalyptic science-fiction, lull me into a false sense of security and then kick me where it hurts! Sure, the message is solid and one we can all relate to; the idea that no matter what path you choose, you end up as just a conformed member of the working dead, the perpetual cult of doing and dressing like every other slave to the system you help to maintain. I get it. Just don’t pretend to be something you’re not.

I thought I was being facetious until I heard these lines from Beatrice:

“I don’t know who I am anymore”.

And who could forget this one?

“Let’s take it slow”.

A question: why are Beatrice and Kate Winslet the only people in the entire world who don’t have black hair. Actually, why are they the only two people in the world with perfect hair and make-up in a world without mirrors? I get the point of verisimilitude but spotting the goodie and the baddie shouldn’t be quite so easy!

Then there’s the fact that every single person in this movie is unbelievably attractive. Like everyone. The bad guys. The good guys. The dead guys.  The parents. Did the casting people go straight to the modelling agency and use the majority of the money on Kate Winslet and her mountains of make-up? That these things are so noticeable to me in a post-apocalyptic world ruins the suspension of disbelief and the movie for me.

This is a movie by a teenage girl, about teenage girls, for teenage girls. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Just don’t be fooled like I was.

This is the best chick-flick ever.

Damning with faint praise indeed.

Rating: UUu