Cinema Report #16 - Divergent
I think I'm outgrowing the coming-of-age stories. As interesting as it may be to follow the development of a young character to a strong hero, I just don't care very much for their adolescent problems of leaving their parents, first love or finding your their own place in the world.
“Divergent” has been said to be a mix of Harry Potter and Hunger Games. Although I can see why one would think that, it really has little it common with either.
Yes, the story seems to be about the differences between several “houses”, and just like in Harry Potter it doesn't really play that big a part to where the heroine belongs in the end. The relevant part about it is actually that she can not only choose her house, but that this gives her more freedom of mind (and apparently more intelligence) than the other people around her.
Yes, it's a dystopia and the world in which the heroine lives is not an overall nice or just one. They get divided into those houses and have to follow the respective rules for the rest of their lives. But nobody really has to fight for their lives - especially not as punishment, and nobody is treated like slaves, too.
The basic idea of “Divergent” is good and the heroine actually uses her apparently unusual ability to think in more than one direction. The bad guys and sidekicks are a bit boring (friends) or ridiculous (love-interest) and in the best case a bit underused (bad guys, one of them Kate Winslet).
It's also a pity that the world itself wasn't explained or shown a bit more. It's not much use if rules are established, but never really shown how it affects the lives of the people. That way you can't even appreciate properly when they get broken.
I'm curious to see if they'll make film out of the remaining two books, too, because I honestly don't think this story and this version of it are as good as the Hunger Games, for example.