Veronica Roth’s novel ‘Divergent’ has been due a movie since it’s release. Sure. I’ll admit it. I’m biased. I’m from Illinois and lived in Chicago for years so the idea of seeing the city with a dystopian outlook has me extremely exited. What can I say? I love dystopian and post-apocalyptic settings in novels and movies. While we’ve seen hints of a post-apocalyptic Chicago in Revolution, I don’t think it’ll compare to anything this big budget dystopian film has in mind.
We’ve previously seen a bit of the look of a run down Chicago and various factions from the film. We know we’ll be seeing more of ‘Divergent’ at Comic-Con, but today we are happy to share with you this latest picture from Entertainment Weekly. Anyone who has taken the train system in Chicago knows that jumping a moving train just seems like an extremely bad idea.
When talking about his work on the film director Neil Burger (‘Limitless’, ‘The Illusionist’) chimed in that “It’s fantastic to be able to create a world that’s completely new.” That was an interesting way to phrase it. Yes, the society within is new and while the city may be crumbling it is still based off of Chicago. A future broken down Chicago but The Windy City nonetheless.
Our reviewer loved the original Divergent novel and while I don’t generally read Young Adult novels these days I had to add it to my pile.
Here’s the official description of the novel:
In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris (Shailene Woodley) and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she’s kept hidden from everyone because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.
While I’m waiting for the trailer before I make my full judgment call as to whether or not I’m seeing this on it’s release date of March 21st 2014 , it’s always hard for me to pass up any film based in Chicago. Having read the synopsis (and if you’ve read the book) are you looking forward to seeing Divergent on the big screen?
