Divergent Review: Is it possible to classify ourselves with just one virtue?

Divergent was a movie I've wanted to watch for quite some time but I admit I had prejudices beforehand so I kept putting it off. I can't explain why because I don't know the reasons myself but for "some" reason, I expected this movie to be way too cheesy. I usually hate when I am wrong, well who actually likes being wrong, right? But this is the first time I have ever been this happy to be completely wrong about something! Divergent was ANYTHING but what I initially expected it to be.

Divergent has a very unique story. I am sure many people out there have theories about alternate worlds. Not alternate universes as in Fringe but an alternate world where people lived a different life. A different reality from ours, well because the world is not exactly livable at the moment so I actually sometimes take the time to just sit and think about what it would be like to live in a different world free from terrorism/war/murder and so on. Divergent tells the story of one of those different worlds. A world with a unique governing system in an attempt to prevent future wars. A system that will let the leaders control the people in a more effective way. 

In Divergent, this world has a faction system based on certain characteristic features. This faction system was created in order to prevent another war which is something that happened in the past and created absolute chaos. People are born into their parents' factions and after reaching a certain age, they take a test to determine what factions they can fit into the best; however, if they desire they can still choose the faction they want; even if it is a faction that wasn't the result of the test. Once they choose a faction, there is no way for them to go back to their old factions or change factions in the future. Basically you become a member of that faction until the day you die or you become factionless.

There are 5 factions: Erudite is formed by intelligent people in the community who believe that ignorance caused the war. This faction includes scientists, researchers and doctors. Dauntless is formed by the bravest people and they are tasked with protecting the community. Candor is formed by honest and truthful people who control the law. Amity is formed by peaceful ad kind people who are completely against the war and they take the role of farmers. Last but not least, Abnegation is formed by selfless people who always put the needs of others before their own. They live their lives in the simplest way possible and they also control the government (which is disapproved by Erudite as they believe they should hold control over it). There are also factionless people who either couldn't pass the tests of their chosen factions so they were kicked or they chose to be factionless themselves. These people are homeless, hungry and only helped by Abnegation. 

And then there is the title of the movie: Divergent. Divergents are people who have more than just one virtue. They can be Dauntless, Erudite and Abnegation at the same time (or other factions) which is a very scary notion for Erudite because they believe that these people can't be controlled, so they can be the cause of another war in the future and possess a threat to peace. Ultimately, Erudite starts a hunt to find and capture these Divergents.

Our main character Tris (Shailene Woodley) is born into Abnegation faction; however, after she takes the test, the results determine that she is a Divergent. After choosing the faction she wants (not giving spoilers), she must do whatever she can to keep her real identity a secret and overcome the tough challenges set by her faction so she can become an official member. She can't afford to be kicked out because in this world, being factionless is considered to be worse than death.

Speaking of Shailene Woodley, I totally adored her in Divergent. I've never seen any of her movies before but I think she's got a very bright future ahead of her. I really hope to see more of her movies as I think she is a very strong actress. The thing with Hollywood though is that there are a lot of strong actresses but they don't make use of them as they give them roles of someone's wife/girlfriend/mistress who have like 0 impact on anything. So, even if they are talented actresses, they can't really shine because they aren't given the chance. It's just great to see female protagonists! We certainly need more of them! I really enjoyed Theo James' portrayal of the mysterious Four character as well. I think both Theo and Shailene were magnificent and I really loved their on-screen chemistry. Kate Winslet, as the leader of Erudite, was also incredible like she always is.

There are some surprising moments in the movie so I will not spoil anything for you by telling the whole story here. Divergent is one of those movies that you really shouldn't miss. It is a very entertaining and in my opinion the most enjoyable movie that was released in the year 2014.

Before I end my post, I am gonna ask the question I asked in the title again though. Do you really believe that a human can be classified with only one virtue? If it is very dominant it could be "partially" true, but we also have many other features. So according to the faction system, you can't be brave and honest at the same time which is absolutely ridiculous. If so, then you are a Divergent.

I don't get comments on my blog but if you do decide to drop a comment below, feel free to share your thoughts about this faction system and which faction you think would suit you the most/least. I personally favour Candor for myself. I am incredibly brave and I really wouldn't think twice if I had to jump from somewhere; but in the movie, Dauntless are much more than just brave and fearless. They have incredible stamina, strength and they seek fighters. I run for 10 seconds and I feel like my heart is coming out of my chest already and I don't even know how to effectively throw a punch, so by movie standards I'd never make it into Dauntless. As for Erudite, I do consider myself to be pretty logical and more intelligent than your average person but again by movie standards intelligent means math and science skills, neither of which I have. I don't even believe that intelligence should be determined by one's math skills. Math doesn't and shouldn't equal to smart; but anyway I wouldn't be able to make it into Erudite either. So the only reasonable faction for me would be Candor as I'm a pretty honest person.

Feel free to share which faction you'd see yourself clearly in.