Audience members would be forgiven for thinking that Insurgent had been released already – we have certainly been hearing about it for long enough. The second instalment in the film adaptation of the Divergent book series by Veronica Roth has been previewed and trailed and, now, Snapchatted for such a long time that it perhaps feels beyond familiar. It hasn’t been released, though. If it had, clumsy soundbites such as these would surely have generated more internet memes.
For it is the internet-dwelling, meme-creating young adult crowd that the Divergent series, and therefore Insurgent, is essentially aimed at – hence, the recent Snapchatting during Pretty Little Liars. Once neatly sewn back together, however, the clip reveals dialogue so cringe-worthy and clichéd that audiences would be forgiven for thinking they had stumbled into Fifty Shades Of Grey instead. The source material is adapted for the screen by Brian Duffield (R.I.P.D), Akiva Goldsman (Angels And Demons) and Mark Bomback (Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes) and – according to this clip – apparently gives a perfect example of how not to write women.
This is the tragic irony of the latest clip. The story has a classic young adult science fiction theme – with all citizens of a futuristic, dystopian Chicago being defined by their personality, which is tested and categorized into one of five ‘types.’ The heroine, Beatrice Prior, is Divergent, and leads the fight against these restrictive policies. However, the dialogue of the film seems to paint Beatrice as the absolute stereotype of a thinly drawn female character – the beguiling martyr who just doesn’t realize how beautiful/strong/talented/capable of leadership she is, until some handsome men make her understand. Beatrice Prior stands against labelling, but the film version of her bears her entire outline in one snippet of dialogue.
The actress playing her – Shailene Woodley – is doing her best with what material she has, and indeed, fans of the first film, Divergent, will no doubt turn out in droves. They will be rewarded with supporting turns from Miles Teller, Theo James, Jai Courtney, Naomi Watts, Kate Winslet, Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q and Octavia Spencer, but will they also be rewarded with a good adaptation by director Robert Schwentke (R.I.P.D), featuring decent characterization? All will be revealed when Insurgent finally gets a release on March 20th, 2015.
