Divergent is a 2014 American dystopian science fiction action film directed by Neil Burger, based on the 2011 novel by Veronica Roth. The film is the first installment in The Divergent Series and was produced by Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher, and Pouya Shahbazian, with a screenplay by Evan Daugherty and Vanessa Taylor. It stars Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ashley Judd, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Zoë Kravitz, Miles Teller, Tony Goldwyn, Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q, and Kate Winslet. The story takes place in a dystopian and post-apocalyptic Chicago where people are divided into distinct factions based on human virtues. Beatrice Prior is warned that she is Divergent and thus will never fit into any one of the factions. Soon, she learns that a sinister plot is brewing in the seemingly perfect society.
Development of Divergent began in March 2011 when Summit Entertainment picked up the film rights to the novel with Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher's production company Red Wagon Entertainment. Principal photography began April 16, 2013, and concluded on July 16, 2013, with re-shoots taking place from January 24–26, 2014. Production mostly took place in Chicago.
Divergent was released on March 21, 2014, in the United States. The film received mixed reviews: although its action sequences and performances, notably Woodley's, were praised, critics deemed its execution and handling of its themes to be generic and unoriginal, and compared it unfavorably to other young adult fiction adaptations. The film grossed $288.9 million worldwide against its budget of $85 million. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 5, 2014.
A sequel, Insurgent, was released on March 20, 2015, in the United States and other countries. A third film, Allegiant, was released on March 18, 2016. A fourth and final film, Ascendant, was never produced.
Plot
In a futuristic dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions: Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the kind), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), and Erudite (the intelligent). The remaining population, the Factionless, holds no status or privilege as they primarily wander the streets. Upon turning 16, children undergo a serum-induced psychological aptitude test that reveals their best-suited faction, although they can choose any faction as their permanent group during the subsequent Choosing Ceremony.
Beatrice Prior lives in Abnegation, which runs the government. Her father, Andrew, and Abnegation's leader, Marcus Eaton, serve on the ruling council. When Beatrice is tested, her results show equal attributes of multiple factions: Abnegation, Erudite, and Dauntless, making her a Divergent. Her proctor Tori Wu, a Dauntless woman, records her results as Abnegation. She warns her to conceal her accurate results because Divergents can think independently and would threaten the existing social order.
The next day, Beatrice's brother Caleb chooses Erudite at the Choosing Ceremony, while she selects Dauntless. She meets Christina, Al, and Will, other faction transfers. Christina and Al are from Candor, and Will is from Erudite. Dauntless leader Eric Coulter warns the initiates that those who fail to meet the faction's high standards will become Factionless. Beatrice jumps from a tall building into a dark hole, landing in a net and gaining respect from Four, a transferred instructor.
Beatrice initially struggles in Dauntless training and ranks far below the cutoff after the first evaluation, but with Four's help, she slowly improves. Eric then matches her against her nemesis, Candor transfer Peter Hayes, in a fight that ends with Beatrice's defeat and recovery in the infirmary.
Unwilling to miss the crucial Capture the Flag test, she leaves the infirmary, joins the other initiates, secures her team's victory, and makes the final cut. In the next training phase, the initiates confront their deepest fears in psychological simulations. Beatrice's divergence enables her to navigate the tests creatively, but Four cautions her to conceal her abilities and to approach the challenges as a typical Dauntless would.
Beatrice visits Caleb, who tells her that Erudite plans to overthrow Abnegation. When she returns, Al, Peter, and their fellow Candor transfer Drew attack her in an attempt to kill her, but Four rescues her. The next day, Al begs Tris to forgive him, but she refuses and calls him a coward. He later kills himself by jumping into "The Pit".
Four takes Beatrice into his fear simulations to prepare her for the final test. There, she learns that he is Tobias Eaton and that his father, Marcus, used to beat him as a child. He also reveals that he, too, is divergent. Beatrice then passes her test and officially joins Dauntless. The Dauntless recruits are injected with a serum from Erudite, supposedly for tracking but actually for mind control.
The next day, the Dauntless prepares to attack Abnegation under Erudite's orders. As the serum fails on Divergents, Tris must blend in to avoid suspicion as Coulter discovered a divergent in his ranks and killed him. She finds Four, who also pretends to be under control but actually did not take the serum. When the Dauntless raid Abnegation, they split from their group to find Beatrice's parents. However, Eric captures Four, realizing he's divergent, and orders Beatrice's execution. Her mother, Natalie, a former Dauntless, saves her but is later shot and killed during their escape.
Tris finds her father hiding with Caleb, Marcus, and several Abnegation members. The group sneaks into Erudites headquarters, where Tris encounters Peter and forces him to lead them to Erudite's control center. Her father sacrifices himself in a shootout, so Beatrice goes in alone to find Four, who is now under mind control.
Knowing Four's fears, Beatrice manages to wake him from the mind control, and both enter the central control room, where Erudite's leader, Jeanine Matthews, has Dauntless prepared to execute nearly the entire Abnegation faction. Beatrice uses a sample of the mind control serum on Jeanine to force her to erase the program, ruining her plot. The group escapes the compound and boards a train.
Cast
Shailene Woodley as Beatrice "Tris" Prior, a 16-year-old girl formerly of Abnegation who joins Dauntless Elyse Cole as 10 year old Tris Theo James as Tobias "Four" Eaton, a Dauntless instructor who becomes Tris's boyfriend Ashley Judd as Natalie Prior, Tris's mother Jai Courtney as Eric Coulter, the ruthless leader of Dauntless Ray Stevenson as Marcus Eaton, the city council leader of Abnegation and Four's father Zoë Kravitz as Christina, a new member of Dauntless and a friend of Tris Miles Teller as Peter Hayes, a member of Dauntless who was an original member of Candor Tony Goldwyn as Andrew Prior, Tris's father and a member of Abnegation Ansel Elgort as Caleb Prior, Tris's brother who is a member of Erudite Maggie Q as Tori Wu, Tris's test administrator Mekhi Phifer as Max Kate Winslet as Jeanine Matthews, the leader of Erudite faction Ben Lloyd-Hughes as Will Christian Madsen as Albert Amy Newbold as Molly Atwood
Production
Pre-production In March 2011, Summit Entertainment picked up the rights for Divergent with Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher's production company Red Wagon Entertainment. Neil Burger was announced as the director on August 23, 2012. Evan Daugherty, who co-wrote the screenplay with Vanessa Taylor, said, "I get hung up on the toughness of the movie but of equal importance is the love story between Tris and Four. It's inherently and inextricably linked to Tris's character journey. There will be plenty of sexual tension and chemistry, but it's important that all of that stuff doesn't just feel like it's thrown in, but that it all helps Tris grow as a character."
Daugherty further added, "It's tricky because the book is a very packed read with a lot of big ideas. So, distilling that into a cool, faithful two-hour movie is challenging. Not only do you have to establish five factions, but you have to acknowledge that there's a sixth entity, which is the divergent, and you also have the factionless. So there's a world that really has to be built out for the big screen... the movie is going to do it a little more efficiently." Author Veronica Roth said about script of the film, "Reading a script is a really interesting experience. I'd never read a script before. I was really impressed by how closely it stuck to the general plot line of the book."
Initially, the budget of the film was $40 million but Lionsgate later increased it to $80 million (which finally changed to $85 million) due to the success of The Hunger Games. Analyst Ben Mogil said, "Divergent is more similar to Hunger Games in that the company owns the underlying economics (i.e. production) and the budget (at $80[million]) is more manageable."
Casting On October 22, 2012, it was announced that Shailene Woodley had landed the lead role of Beatrice "Tris" Prior. Lucas Till, Jack Reynor, Jeremy Irvine, Alex Pettyfer, Brenton Thwaites, Alexander Ludwig and Luke Bracey were all considered for the role of Tobias "Four" Eaton. On March 15, 2013, it was announced that Theo James had been cast as Four.
Although James was 10 years older than his character when cast, Roth praised his casting: "I was sure within seconds: this was 'Four', no question. Theo is able to capture 'Four's' authority and strength, as well as his depth and sensitivity." She also mentions the chemistry between him and Shailene: "He is a perfect match for Shailene's incredibly strong presence as Tris. I'm thrilled!" The producers said about his casting: "We took our time to find the right actor to fill the role of Four, and Theo is definitely the perfect fit. Veronica has crafted a truly iconic character in Four and we cannot wait to begin production and bring him and this story to life for millions of fans around the world."
On March 11, 2013, it was announced that the roles of Tori, Christina, and Caleb had gone to Maggie Q, Zoë Kravitz, and Ansel Elgort respectively. Ray Stevenson, Jai Courtney and Aaron Eckhart were announced to be in talks to join the cast on March 15, 2013. Stevenson and Courtney joined the cast as Marcus Eaton and Eric. That same day, Miles Teller was cast as Peter. Kate Winslet was announced to be in talks on January 24, 2013. Later, it was confirmed that she would portray Jeanine Matthews.
Talking about playing the negative character for the first time, Winslet said, "I'm no idiot. The idea went through my head that I have never played a baddie before, I was almost kind of surprised." Since Winslet joined filming late, she used that distance from her co-stars to appear aloof on the first day of her shoot. "I wanted to break it and say, 'It's OK, I'm really fun. I promise.' But I thought, just for today, I'd let them think that I am a complete bitch."
Winslet was five months pregnant during the shooting of the film and her pregnancy was concealed using various props. According to Burger, "We had to be very strategic in the way that we shot her. She always had some sort of file or case in her hand that was sort of protecting, you know, her bump." On March 25, 2013, Ben Lamb was cast as Edward, Ben Lloyd-Hughes as Will, and Christian Madsen as Al. In April 2013, Ashley Judd and Tony Goldwyn joined the cast as Natalie and Andrew Prior, Beatrice's parents.
Filming