WHILE not quite breaking the record of book to screen adaptations that the Twilight saga surely holds, yet another book aimed at “young adults”, or teenagers as most people call them, has got the film treatment only a short time after the book was released . This time it is Divergent, the first in a trilogy written by Veronica Roth, set in a futuristic version of Chicago. There are a number of these kinds of adaptations due out this year. While there is something to be said for making books more accessible to a younger audience, one gets the impression box office numbers are more of a concern than increasing literacy levels.

Tris (Shailene Woodley) is a young woman living in a world set almost entirely in the city of Chicago. There was some sort of war which ravaged most of the rest of the world and the city itself still bears scars. The inhabitants of the city are divided into factions, which determine their responsibilities in life and their outlook. Tris was born into Abnegation (selflessness) but when it comes to test which faction she should become, she registers as Divergent, a dangerous mindset which means she cannot be put in one place. She chooses to be part of Dauntless (who value bravery and guard the inhabitants of the city), and trains to become a fighter, while all the time trying to protect her secret from people who want to change things led by Erudite (clever people) and calculating Jeanine (Kate Winslet).

Divergent is a bit like a lukewarm bath, not too bad when you get in, but gets cold quite quickly and there’s not enough hot water to make it really satisfying. It is actually a very faithful adaptation of the original novel, but it definitely works better on the page than the screen. The violence of the book is watered down to make this more palatable for a wider audience, but loses its impact in doing so. The film is also too long and the climax isn’t really that climactic. If you really can’t wait for the next Hunger Games instalment, this might fill the gap, but it is a very pale imitation.

5/10