Divergent

Divergent offers a fascinating premise:  In a futuristic society, everyone must belong to one of five groups, or "factions":

1.  Dauntless (the brave)  2. Amity (the peaceful)  3.  Erudite (the thinkers)  4. Abnegation (the generous) and 5. Candor (the honest)

On a special day every year, all sixteen year olds must select the faction to which they will devote themselves for the rest of their livers.  Once they make the choice, they can never go back on it.  They cannot go home again.

Enter young Beatrice, played brilliantly by Shailene Woodley.  She takes an aptitude test (that looks into her mind...haha) to determine where her talents might lie.  Lo and Behold!  She is a freak!  She does not fit into any of the five categories.  She risks being DIVERGENT!

You get the picture.  No spoiler, so I hesitate to offer plot details.  Let's just say that she does select one of the five groups of society in spite of her ominous test results.  Problem is, she has to hide her true self from others in that group.

Worse:  The group she chooses makes her go through a rigorous training program. The trainers are tough dudes who run our young heroine through some mighty tough trials. If she fails in her training, she will be dumped and then, as an independent, what will become of her?

Ah, such angst!

This sci-fi thriller is fun.  The basic messages hit home:  Do we all need to fit into a group?  What if we don't?  Does society function best if we each know our place in life?  What if you end up an outcast?

Machiavelli is alive and well in this flick.  Everyone believes in the greater good and subjugation of the individual.  Might makes right.  The ends justify the means.

Well...not everyone, thank goodness. Our heroine, and her boyfriend, just happen to tend toward free will.  They need to fool their peers into thinking they are true believers.  How do you fit a square peg in a round hole?  How do the non-conformists manage among the conformists?   Uh-oh!

Acting: Great!  Shailene Woodley, who finally got big star exposure in a brief role as George Clooney's rebellious daughter in The Descendents, has been acting for years.  She came up as a child actor.  Her former lead roles were in The Secret Life of the American Teenager and The Fault in our Stars.  Her love interest, played by Theo James, is a little known British star who will no doubt gain traction for his handsome demeanor.

Is the film five star?  No.  I would say that the ideas might be more significant than the actual plot.  Yet I have to admit that the story grabbed me and held on.  There are times in the film that we truly have to suspend our disbelief and go with the flow.  But that is sci-fi, right?

Are you a conformist?  A divergent?  Where do YOU belong?  Where do I belong?

Hmmmm...............