2014 film by Neil Burger
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, "", was released on March 20, 2015, in the United States and other countries.
A third film, "", was released on March 18, 2016. A fourth film, "Ascendant", was never made.
Plot.
In a futuristic dystopian Chicago, society has been divided into five factions: Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the kind), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), and Erudite (the intelligent). The remaining population, called the Factionless, have no status or privilege. Upon turning sixteen, children undergo a serum-induced psychological aptitude test, which informs them of their best-suited faction, but can choose any as their permanent group at the subsequent Choosing Ceremony.
Sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior was born and raised into Abnegation, which runs the government. Her father, Andrew, serves on the ruling council along with Abnegation's leader, Marcus Eaton. After her test results show equal attributes of multiple factions- Abnegation, Erudite, and Dauntless- making her Divergent, her proctor Tori Wu, a Dauntless woman, records her results as Abnegation. She warns her to conceal her true results; as Divergents can think independently and sense any serums injected into them, the government feels they threaten the existing social order.
The next day, at the Choosing Ceremony, Beatrice's brother Caleb chooses Erudite, while, after some hesitation, she chooses Dauntless. Afterwards, she meets Christina, Al, and Will, three other faction transfers to Dauntless. Christina and Al are from Candor, and Will is from Erudite.
Eric Coulter, a brutal Dauntless leader, reminds the initiates that anyone not meeting the faction's high expectations of commitment and fearlessness will become Factionless. Beatrice volunteers to jump from a tall building into a dark hole and lands into a net. When Four, a transfer initiates' instructor, asks her name, she shortens it to "Tris", shedding her earlier identity.
Tris initially struggles in Dauntless training and ranks far below the cutoff after the first evaluation, but with Four's help, she slowly improves. Eric matches her against her nemesis, Candor transfer Peter Hayes, in a fight, which ends with Tris' defeat and recovery in the infirmary.
Unwilling to miss the most important test, Capture the Flag, she leaves the infirmary, joins the other initiates, secures her team's victory, and makes the final cut. In the next phase of training, the initiates face their worst fears in psychological simulations. Tris's divergence allows her to creatively solve the tests, but Four warns her to hide her abilities and solve them as a normal Dauntless would.
Tris visits Caleb, who tells her that Erudite plans to overthrow Abnegation. When she returns, Al, Peter, and their fellow Candor transfer Drew attack 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", rather than live with the shame.
To prepare her for the final test, Four takes Tris into his own fear simulations, where she learns he is Tobias Eaton, and his father Marcus used to beat him as a child. Tris 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 morning, the Dauntless prepare to execute Abnegation under Erudite's orders. As the serum fails on Divergents, Tris must blend in to avoid suspicion. She finds Four, who reveals himself to also be Divergent. When the Dauntless move to raid Abnegation, they separate from the group and attempt to locate Tris's parents. However, Eric realizes Four is not under control so captures both of them, taking Four into custody and ordering Tris's execution. Her mother Natalie, who reveals herself to be a former Dauntless, appears and saves her but is shot and killed later on as they attempt to escape.
Tris finds her father hiding with Caleb, Marcus, and several Abnegation members. The group sneaks into Dauntless headquarters, where Tris encounters Peter and forces him to lead them to Erudite's control center. Her father sacrifices himself in a shootout, so Tris goes in alone to find Four, who is now under stronger mind control designed for Divergents.
Knowing Four's fears, Tris manages to wake him from the mind control, and both enter the central control room, where Erudite's leader Jeanine Matthews has Dauntless execute nearly the entire Abnegation faction. Tris uses a sample of the mind control serum on her to force her to cancel the program. The group escapes the compound and boards a train out of the complex.
Cast.
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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.
Filming began in Chicago on April 16, 2013, and concluded on July 16, 2013. Virtually all production photography took place in Chicago; many of the interior locations were filmed at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios. Scenes for the "choosing ceremony" were shot at Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist on East Wacker in downtown Chicago, with outdoor shots taken at Pioneer Court. Filming also took place at the Navy Pier Ferris Wheel; the entire area was treated with dirt and rust to appear more dystopian. Additional scenes were shot at 57th Street and Ellis Avenue near the University of Chicago, at Federal Street where fake L tracks were constructed and at Michigan Avenue. Scenes were also filmed in the University of Chicago's Joe and Rika Mansueto Library.
For the Abnegation sector, the production team constructed the set on Wells Street in downtown Chicago. In late June, filming took place at 1500 S Western Avenue and 600 S. Wells Street, Chicago. In the last schedule, filming moved to the Chicago River and continued at Lake Street Bridge, Wacker Drive and LaSalle Street Bridge. Filming wrapped on July 16, 2013. On January 24, 2014, additional filming began in Los Angeles, finishing two days later, which officially became the last day of shooting.
Post-production.
Post-production work began after filming wrapped. On July 18, Summit and Lionsgate issued a joint statement announcing the film would be released in IMAX format: "We're delighted to continue our successful collaboration with IMAX, with whom we have already partnered on the global blockbuster "Hunger Games" and "Twilight Saga" franchises, and we're especially pleased that we can introduce our newest young adult franchise, "Divergent", to the movie going public in the premium IMAX format that celebrates its status as a special and memorable event."
Music.
The score for "Divergent" was composed by Junkie XL and executive produced by his longtime mentor Hans Zimmer, featuring vocal contributions from Ellie Goulding on four of the