Divergent (2014)

Originally posted on: 23 March 2014

------------------------------------------------------------

“What makes you different makes you dangerous.”

I know there’s a buzz among my friends about Divergent but I was not aware that there’s an international fandom about it. So I watched the film without such awareness. And I’m glad we did. I with teh family.

On the first fifteen minutes of the film, I felt like consoling Beatrice. I wanted to tell her that it’s all right to feel different, to be different, and that she’s not alone. I was quick to relate to her because I also do not belong to just one “faction,” and it’s not by choice. It just comes naturally.

There may be a prevalent trait in me, but I cannot be “enclosed” or labeled as just member-of-any-group. Also, I don’t conform to the norms of the society. I just can’t, but I don’t have anti-social disorder.

Divergent reminds me of what Jodie Foster said. “Normalcy is not something to aspire to, it’s something to get away from.” I was also reminded of a classic film called Anatomy of a Murder. The lead character, Paul Biegler, said, in paraphrase, that people are not single-faced beings. Indeed.

Among the casts of the film, I only know two people. Kate Winslet is of course given. The other one is Ashley Judd, though it took quite a time to remember her name. I’ve been thinking of Julianne Moore, but I would keep on telling myself that Moore was in The Silence of the Lambs. I was thinking of the film Kiss the Girls though I’ve just remembered the name. The thing with Judd is, she’s still beautiful albeit being in her forties (I assumed). In Kiss the Girls, which I watched when I was still in high school, I thought I wanted to be like her. Simple and beautiful. She was attractive but she was not screaming attention. With just two familiar actors, I kind of felt older and definitely out of the loop.

So let’s get back to the plot.

One of the things that impressed me most was Four’s (Theo James) courage to trust Tris (Shailene Woodley) with his thoughts. If I were in Tris’ place, I’d react the very same way.

The other things that I found amusing was the surprise in people that Tris is different in the sense when dealing with fear. She remembers what’s actually before her and claims it, thus finding the right conclusion. She can’t be boxed and labeled. Reminds me of what Tori, the final test simulator and tatoo artist, warned Tris of. She can’t conform.

I kind of understand why Tris wanted to find her identity and fit it. She’s young and has been only presented with four factions: Abnegation, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite. And when she learned of the other faction, besides the Factionless, she got confused as of what’s wrong with it. It has occurred to me that I still got that “confusion” part. Yeah, what’s wrong for being different? What’s wrong for being a Divergent?