Divergent (film) Divergent is a 2014 American science fiction action film Ceremony. directed by Neil Burger, based on the novel of the same Beatrice Prior (Shailene Woodley) was born into Abne- name by Veronica Roth. The film is the first installment The Divergent Series gation, which runs the government. Her father, Andrew in and was produced by Lucy Fisher, Prior (Tony Goldwyn), serves on the ruling council along Pouya Shabazian, and Douglas Wick, with a screen- [4] with the head of Abnegation, Marcus Eaton (Ray Steven- play by Evan Daugherty and Vanessa Taylor. It stars son). Beatrice takes her test with a Dauntless woman Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ashley Judd, Jai Court- named Tori Wu (Maggie Q) as her proctor. Her results ney, Ray Stevenson, Zoë Kravitz, Miles Teller, Tony [5][6] show attributes of multiple factions, meaning she is Di- Goldwyn, Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q and Kate Winslet. vergent. Her divergence includes Abnegation, Erudite, The story takes place in a dystopian and post-apocalyptic [7] and Dauntless. Tori records her results as Abnegation and Chicago where people are divided into distinct factions warns her to keep the true result a secret, saying that be- based on human virtues. Beatrice Prior is warned that cause Divergents can think independently and the govern- she is Divergent and thus will never fit into any one of the ment therefore cannot control them, they are considered factions and soon learns that a sinister plot is brewing in threats to the existing social order. her seemingly perfect society. Divergent The next day at the Choosing Ceremony, Beatrice’s Development of began in March 2011 when brother Caleb Prior (Ansel Elgort) chooses Erudite, while Summit Entertainment picked up the film rights to the after some hesitation, Beatrice chooses Dauntless. After novel with Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher's production the ceremony, Beatrice meets Christina (Zoë Kravitz), company Red Wagon Entertainment. Principal photog- Al (Christian Madsen), and Will (Ben Lloyd-Hughes), raphy began April 16, 2013 and concluded on July 16, three other initiates from other factions who also chose 2013, with reshoots taking place from January 24–26, Dauntless. Christina and Al are from Candor and Will 2014. Production mostly took place in Chicago. is from Erudite. The initiates’ commitment and fearless- Divergent was released on March 21, 2014 in the United ness are immediately tested, and Eric Coulter (Jai Court- States. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with ney), a brutal Dauntless leader, makes it clear that anyone praise going towards its performances, and criticism fo- not meeting Dauntless’ high expectations will be expelled cused on its execution. Reviewers found the film to be from the faction. Beatrice is the first to volunteer for a generic and unoriginal, comparing it unfavorably to other leap of faith from a tall building into a dark hole, landing young-adult fiction adaptations. Despite this, the film was in a net. When Four (Theo James), a transfer initiates’ in- a financial success as it reached the #1 spot at the box of- structor, asks her name, she decides to shorten it to “Tris.” fice during its opening weekend. After its release, the Tris initially struggles in Dauntless training, ranking far film earned over US$288 million worldwide against its below the cutoff after the first evaluation, but slowly im- budget of US$85 million.[8][9] It was released on DVD [10] proves. Eric matches her against her nemesis — Peter and Blu-ray on August 5, 2014. (Miles Teller) in a fight. Tris is soundly defeated and ends A sequel, The Divergent Series: Insurgent, was released on up in the infirmary. When she discovers that she will miss March 20, 2015 in the United States.[11] the most important test, Capture The Flag, she breaks out of the infirmary and joins the other initiates, secures her team’s victory, and makes the final cut. In the next phase of training, the initiates are subject 1 Plot to psychological simulations where they face their worst fears. Tris’ divergence allows her to excel at the tests, In a futuristic dystopian Chicago, the society is divided defeating them in unusual ways, but Four warns her to into five factions: Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the hide her abilities and solve the challenges as a normal peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), Dauntless would. Divergents can also manipulate tests and Erudite (the intellectual). The remaining population and serums. are the Factionless, who have no status or privilege in this Tris visits her brother Caleb, who tells her that Erudite is society. When children reach the age of 16, they undergo planning to overthrow Abnegation and become the ruling a serum-induced psychological test which indicates their faction. On her return to Dauntless headquarters, Tris is best-suited faction, then are allowed to choose any fac- attacked by Al, Peter, and Drew before being rescued by tion as their permanent group at the subsequent Choosing 1 2 3 PRODUCTION Four. The next day Al pleads with Tris for her forgive- ness but she refuses, calling him a coward. He later kills himself by jumping into “The Chasm” rather than face failure. To prepare her for the final test, Four takes Tris into his own fear simulations, where she learns that his real name is Tobias Eaton, the son of Marcus Eaton. After the sim- ulation, they kiss. Tris then passes her test and is officially initiated into the Dauntless. The rest of the Dauntless are then injected with a serum supplied by Erudite which is supposedly for tracking, but is actually for mind control. The next morning, the Dauntless prepare to execute Ab- negations by the orders of the Erudites. Divergents are unaffected by the new serum, so Tris must blend in to avoid suspicion. She finds Four, who reveals himself to be a Divergent. While the Dauntless move to raid Abne- gation, Tris and Four separate from the group and attempt to locate Tris’ parents, but Eric sees that Four is not under control and captures the two. Four is taken into custody while Tris is ordered to be executed. Her mother Natalie (Ashley Judd) appears and saves her but is shot and killed as they try to escape. Tris finds her father in hiding with Caleb, Marcus, and several Abnegations. The group sneaks into the Daunt- less headquarters, where Tris encounters Peter and forces him to lead them to Erudite’s control center. Her father sacrifices himself in a shootout, and Tris goes in alone to find Four, who is now under stronger mind control and at- tacks her. Using her knowledge of his fears, she manages to wake him from the mind control and the two enter the Shailene Woodley portrays Beatrice Prior. central control room, where Erudite leader Jeanine (Kate Winslet) is about to have the Dauntless army execute the • entire Abnegation faction. Tris uses a sample of the mind Ansel Elgort as Caleb Prior control serum on her to force her to cancel the program. • The group escapes the compound and boards a train out Maggie Q as Tori Wu of the complex. • Mekhi Phifer as Max • Kate Winslet as Jeanine Matthews 2 Cast • Ben Lloyd-Hughes as Will • See also: List of The Divergent trilogy characters Christian Madsen as Al • Amy Newbold as Molly Atwood • Shailene Woodley as Beatrice “Tris” Prior • Theo James as Tobias “Four” Eaton 3 Production • Ashley Judd as Natalie Prior • 3.1 Pre-production Jai Courtney as Eric Coulter • In March 2011, Summit Entertainment picked up the Ray Stevenson as Marcus Eaton rights for Divergent with Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher’s • production company Red Wagon Entertainment.[12] Neil Zoë Kravitz as Christina Burger was announced as the director on August 23, • [13] Miles Teller as Peter Hayes 2012. Evan Daugherty, who co-wrote the screenplay with Vanessa Taylor, said, “I get hung up on the tough- • Tony Goldwyn as Andrew Prior ness of the movie but of equal importance is the love story 3.3 Filming 3 between Tris and Four. It’s inherently and inextricably On October 22, 2012 it was announced that Shailene linked to Tris’s character journey. There will be plenty Woodley had landed the lead role of Beatrice “Tris” of sexual tension and chemistry, but it’s important that all Prior.[18] Lucas Till, Jack Reynor, Jeremy Irvine, Alex of that stuff doesn't just feel like it’s thrown in, but that Pettyfer, Brenton Thwaites, Alexander Ludwig and Luke it all helps Tris grow as a character.”[14] Daugherty fur- Bracey were all considered for the role of Tobias “Four” ther added, “It’s tricky because the book is a very packed Eaton.[19][20] On March 15, 2013, it was announced that read with a lot of big ideas. So, distilling that into a cool, Theo James had been cast as Four.[21] faithful two-hour movie is challenging. Not only do you Though James was 10 years older than the character when have to establish five factions, but you have to acknowl- cast, Roth praised his casting: “I was sure within sec- edge that there’s a sixth entity, which is the divergent, and onds: this was 'Four', no question. Theo is able to cap- you also have the factionless. So there’s a world that really ture 'Four’s' authority and strength, as well as his depth has to be built out for the big screen... the movie is go- and sensitivity.” She also mentions the chemistry between ing to do it a little more efficiently.”[15] Author Veronica him and Shailene: “He is a perfect match for Shailene’s Roth said about the script of the film: “Reading a script incredibly strong presence as Tris.