Movie Review: Divergent

The screen adaptation of  the first novel in Veronica Roth's immensely popular Divergent series was thrilling and faithful to the book. The movie, directed by Neil Burger (The Illusionist) has a solid cast that includes Shailene Woodley as Beatrice (Tris) Prior, Theo James as Tobias Eaton, Ashley Judd as Tris' mother, Natalie, Ansel Elgort as Tris' brother, Caleb and Kate Winslet was Jeanine Matthews. Rounding out the cast is Maggie Q as the hardened Tori, Zoe Kravitz as Christina and Jai Courtney as the bad-ass Eric.

Divergent tells the story of post-apocalyptic Chicago, a city isolated from the rest of the country by an enormous fence designed to keep whatever is left, outside. Inside the city, the population is organized into factions based on virtues. At the age of sixteen, young people chose which faction they will belong too in an initiation ceremony. This ceremony takes place after they have undergone testing to see which faction they show an aptitude for. Beatrice Prior's test is inconclusive because she demonstrates an aptitude for three factions, Abnegation, Erudite and Dauntless. This means that Beatrice can overcome her fears and that she cannot be controlled like most of her fellow citizens. She is warned not to tell anyone because she is considered "divergent" and that she must hide within a faction.

Believing herself not worthy of staying with Abnegation, at her choosing ceremony, Beatrice picks the Dauntless faction and leaves her family to begin initiation into this faction. The initiation process is cruel and physically taxing, but Beatrice who now goes by the name of Tris, finds an ally in Four who is one of the Dauntless leaders. Four sees that Beatrice is both brave and selfless and he begins to help her train to move up the ranks. As romance begins to blossom between Four and Tris, they discover that their factioned society is breaking down with the Erudite faction accusing Abnegation of mismanaging the government.

In an attempt to remove Abnegation from their position of control, Jeanine Matthews, leader of the Erudites, uses an mind control serum that causes the Dauntless warriors, who believe they are in a simulation, to attack the Abnegation faction. Because they are divergent, Tris and Four are not affected. Instead they must now try to stop the wholesale slaughter of an entire faction.

Discussion

Divergent: The Movie provides fans of the novels a realistic means to visually experience the Divergent world author Veronica Roth created in her novel, showing a ruined Chicago with vast abandoned areas, partially destroyed buildings and a rejuvenated city center. Director Neil Burger does an good job of portraying life in ruined Chicago with its five factions, showing how each group dress and how their lives are lived so separately from one another. In the novel, this kind of detail is spread out through the story, but in the movie it's immediately apparent.

While the entire cast give strong performances and Shailene Woodley was surprisingly good as Tris, Theo James in particular stood out as Dauntless trainer, Four. James' solid effort proves he's more than just a pretty face and he almost steals the spotlight in this movie. James did all of his own stunts.

The screenplay is well done too, as it effectively showcases Tris' development from a shy, awkward teenager unsure about her future, into a brave and selfless young woman who begins to assert her "divergence" to challenge the status quo. This leads to plenty of action, romance, and tragedy. Completing this solid effort is a diverse soundtrack that is both appealing and enhances the action on the screen.

Divergent as a movie might actually be better than the book. The next movie, Insurgent is slated for release in March, 2015.

DVD Movie: The Impossible

On Sunday, December 26, 2004, countries bordering the Indian Ocean experienced one of the deadliest natural disasters, an enormous tsunami triggered by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake beneath the Indian Ocean. Over 230,000 people died in fourteen countries from the tsunami which produced waves approximately 100 feet high. Most of the dead, injured and missing were locals from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and India. These countries are also popular tourist destinations for Westerners, who enjoy vacationing at resorts in Indonesian and Thailand over Christmas. As a result many tourists also lost their lives, with most families losing at least one member. But for the Belon Alvarez family from Spain, the impossible happened - the entire family survived against all odds. The Impossible tells their story.

Maria Belon Alvarez and her family consisting of her husband Quique (Enrique) Alvarez and their three sons, ten-year-old Lucas, eight-year-old Tomas, and five-year-old Simon, had only just arrived at the resort in Khao Lak, Thailand on Christmas Eve. On the morning of December 26, the family was lounging at the resort's pool when Maria heard a thunderous noise that she could not identify. Instantly she and her family were swept away, through the churning waters filled with debris and bodies. 

Maria and her son Lucas managed to find each other quickly and cling to a tree. Maria had serious injuries including a terrible chest wound and a more serious deep wound to her leg. They took refuge in a large tree but Maria could feel her life ebbing away. Eventually they were found by a Thai man who dragged Maria through the swampy area to a village and then made sure she was taken to a hospital. Lucas was certain he would not have survived if he had not jumped into the resort pool as the wave hit.

Meanwhile her husband, Quique had lost his grip on the two boys, Tomas and Simon. However, he found both boys clinging to trees. Determined to find Maria and Lucas, Quique left Tomas and Simon with adults at the hotel and limped through dozens of hospitals and camps before finally locating Maria and Lucas at Takua Pa Hospital. Eventually the family made its way to Singapore where Maria was treated further for her serious injuries.

Discussion

The Impossible accurately portrays the experiences of the Belon Alvarez family during and after the tsunami, switching out the nationality of the family to that of a British family and changing their names to Maria and Henry Bennett. Maria Belon was intimately involved in the process of making the movie, choosing her favourite actress, Naomi Watts to portray her and working on location in Thailand where the movie was filmed to ensure their story was faithfully retold.

Central to The Impossible is a story that is both overwhelming and unbelievable. Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor give solid performances as Maria and Henry Bennett, in shock, disoriented, wounded and yet struggling to save their children and to process the magnitude of what has just happened to them. Maria who was a doctor, knew her life was in danger and feared that she would die leaving Lucas alone. Lucas played by Tom Holland, knew he needed to be strong, to encourage his critically injured mother to survive.

Although the scenes portraying the tsunami seem incredibly realistic, they are obviously nowhere near what survivors and victims encountered. Yet likely due to Maria Belon's presence during filming, small details are present in the movie that survivor accounts mention; the flight of birds away from the seashore, a sudden unexplained wind and the screams of people in the water. Even the water, turbulent, brown and filled with deadly debris of all kinds was accurately portrayed. This was best demonstrated by the flashback Maria has during surgery, showing her being battered by all manner of debris, tree branches, broken chairs, glass and objects that can't be identified. It's easy to understand how so many people died not just from drowning but also from terrible injuries due to the debris. Most people who ended up in the water did not remain clothed as Maria and Lucas were; the force of the waves simply ripped away all clothing. The movie does hint at this when Lucas is traveling with his mother to a hospital and he sees a completely stark naked man, dazed, walking by the side of the road. 

The Impossible also captures the state of confusion in hospitals and make-shift camps which are quickly overwhelmed with injured survivors and people searching for lost family and friends. In some places the water traveled up to  two kilometers inland, devastating villages and crops. Yet despite the horror of what happened, despite having lost everything they owned, as the movie shows, the Thai people selflessly helped tourists, seeing that they were brought to hospitals to be treated. Maria experienced this, when she was dragged through the mud by a Thai man who ensured she was transported to hospital. The movie also portrays the patience and kindness of the Thai people in coping with a disaster of gigantic proportions in a country lacking the resources and infrastructure to do so.

The Impossible was criticized for whitewashing - that is taking Third World tragedy in which the majority of people who were affected were brown people, Indonesian and Thai - and making a movie about a white family who eventually returned home to their lives in Spain without having to deal with the lasting devastation. However, this movie is about a unique story - a family, who against enormous odds, everyone survived - the impossible. It tells one family's story and that is all. It does not minimize the impact the tsunami had on the local population nor does it trivialize their suffering. There are scenes where we see dead Thai people and a truckload of children most of whom are Thai. We see the devastated countryside and villages.

Be prepared for a movie that packs an emotional punch unlike many of the disaster films that have preceded this one. Though one family is the focus here, the emotional, economic and human costs of the 2004 tsunami tragedy are evident even in the last shots as the family flies out of Thailand to Singapore. The Impossible was directed by Juan Antonio Boyona. As an interesting aside, the producers decided to make this film after hearing Maria Belon speak about her family's experiences on Spanish radio. If you missed this movie in theatres, it's time to watch it on DVD.

Movie: Catching Fire

The second installment in the Hunger Games franchise, Catching Fire is now playing in movie theatres across North America. Directed by Francis Lawrence, the movie is based on the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins.

Upon her return to District 12, Katniss Everdeen is stunned to learn that she has become a symbol of rebellion against the Capitol. She learns this from President Snow who unexpectedly visits her home in the Victor's Village. He tells her that she must convince people in the districts that she and Peeta Mellark are in deeply in love or their families will be in grave danger. He will not tolerate rebellion. Snow recognizes Katniss is a danger to the Capitol and he intends to have her eliminated.

However, when Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch and their entourage arrive at District 11, their first stop on their Victory Tour to the Capitol, people flash the three-fingered symbol of rebellion. This leads to some acts of resistance and a brutal response by the district's Peacekeepers. It is at this point that Haymitch and Peeta learn of Snow's ultimatum. They encourage Katniss to try to give Snow what he wants. Even after they announce their engagement,  Katniss and Peeta do not succeed in satisfying Snow and he decides to exact his revenge on Katniss.

Since the 75th Hunger Games is a Quarter Quell, President Snow decides that the tributes from all the districts will be reaped from the existing Hunger Games victors. In shock, Katniss cannot fathom having to go through another Hunger Games.  As it turns out many of the other victors feel the same way as they were promised by the Capitol that when they won, they would never have to face the games again. Katniss decides to confront Haymitch and make him promise that he will do whatever it takes to ensure that Peeta survives. At the reaping ceremony, Peeta steps in for Haymitch whose name is drawn and once again, all three find themselves heading to the Capitol to begin the Quarter Quell. At the Capitol Haymitch tells them that many of the tributes want to form an alliance with them. They decide to work with Finnick Odair and Mags from District 4, Wiress and Beetee from District 3and Johanna Mason from District 7.

President Snow now has a new Head Gamemaker, Heavensbee Plutarch, who suggests that the other tributes will turn on Katniss and kill her. But President Snow is in for a surprise. There are traitors lurking everywhere.

Discussion

As with the first movie, the second installment in the Hunger Games trilogy, Catching Fire was very well done - in some ways, even better than The Hunger Games. Again, the screen adaptation stays true to the novel and there are many new, well cast characters. Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Stanley Tucci, Lenny Kravitz, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, and Donald Sutherland all reprise the roles they had in the first movie. 

Jennifer Lawrence was able to capture the raw emotion one would expect Katniss Everdeen to be experiencing when she learns that she must once again face the games. She also effectively captures the growing conflict Katniss feels regarding Gale and Peeta: she has a friendship with Gale who loves her but he can never fully understand what she has experienced in the games, while Peeta loves her but Katniss seems "indifferent" as President Snow claims.

New characters in this movie include Johanna Mason, a deeply traumatized tribute from District 7, played with realistic volatility by Jena Malone. Movie fans of Pride and Prejudice will remember that she played the giddy, silly Lydia Bennett in the 2005 remake. Victor Tributes from District 3, Beetee Latier played by Jeffrey Wright and Wiress played by Amanda Plummer, daughter of Christopher Plummer, join Katniss in resisting the Capitol. There is Panem's new Head Gamemaker, Heavensbee Plutarch, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman who effectively captures the Gamemaker's subtle balancing act of pretending to be a faithful citizen of the Capitol when in fact he is a secret rebel. 

Catching Fire is well paced, with lots of special effects, some frightening scenes, and many exciting action sequences. The Hunger Game scenes are especially well done, with this Games being set up like a clock. The deaths of the tributes are off screen, but this doesn't diminish the sense of danger that Katniss, Peeta and Finnick experience as they struggle to stay alive. 

One aspect this movie adaptation offers over the books, is insight into the character of President Snow, portrayed by accomplished Canadian actor, Donald Sutherland. Since the author, Suzanne Collins has been involved in the movies' productions and is herself a screen writer, she is able to add further context in the movie adaptations. This is especially so when Peeta is electrocuted by the force field and is revived by Finnick Odair. Watching from the presidential palace is Snow with his young granddaughter, who states "Some day I want to love someone that much."  Katniss's love for Peeta, something until this point even she was not fully aware of, is apparent to even Snow's young granddaughter. Snow's attempt to destroy Katniss and Peeta isn't working as planned, as he believed Katniss did not love Peeta. However, he now realizes that forcing them together may not have worked as he planned.

Mockingjay, the final movie in the trilogy will be split into two movies, the first of which is due out in 2014.