Second Portion Disappointment
March 26, 2015
Insurgent (2015).
D: Robert Schwentke. DP: Florian Ballhaus. W: Brian Duffield, Akiva Goldsman & Mark Bomback. Starring: Shailene Woodley/Theo James/Miles Teller/Ansel Elgort/Kate Winslet/Naomi Watts/Jai Courtney/Mekhi Phifer/Zoe Kravitz/Octavia Spencer/Ashley Judd/Maggie Q/Daniel Dae Kim. (Based on Veronica Roth’s novel of the same name)
In a market saturated with young adult adaptations, it is difficult to standout and stand alone within your series of films. The Divergent Series, written by 20-something Veronica Roth, chronicles Beatrice/Tris Pryor (Shailene Woodley) as she lives in a city built around factions defined by personality traits. Last year’s Divergent covered Tris leaving Abnegation (selflessness) to join the Dauntless (fearless) when she came of age. This year’s adaption of the second novel, Insurgent, picks the story up again with Tris on the run as the Erudite faction leader Joanna (Kate Winslet) continues to seek out and destroy anyone classified as divergent. Yes, that’s a lot of names. And no they aren’t all necessary.
Insurgent is the weaker of the two films, but for a variety of reasons that also have to do with the strength of Roth’s series to begin with. Now out of the faction training world, Insurgent must cover massive amounts of ground as Tris and her group of Dauntless go into hiding and then on the run. A beautiful overhead tracking shot opens the film, but is sadly used again and again. Joseph Trapanese’s score pulsates way too frequently, actually detracting from the drama and action onscreen. This simply is the more difficult book to tackle well.
What is probably the saving grace of the series is Woodley. Sporting her cropped hair needed for last year’s The Fault In Our Stars, Woodley does provide some realism and access to the heaviness of the choices Tris must make. However, unlike the previous film the audience gets so sense about the progression of her personal life. Not to gripe, but the decision to have sex with her boyfriend Four (Theo James) is a weighty and complex one. Here it is brushed past like it’s just plausibly acceptable, like the three male screenwriters simply did not know how to handle writing that scene. James is still all beef cake thunder as Four and the couple do have chemistry even if the age discrepancy from what Roth wrote gives me the giggles.
Insurgent certainly moves at a clip as it spatially must cover lots of ground and no one is given many chances to breathe. Sadly this means that certain characters are removed and plot beats changed. If the film were better this wouldn’t be a bother. What surprisingly doesn’t elevate the series is Winslet as the baddie, despite her best efforts. Her cold is just not cold enough. But she’s better off that Naomi Watts who appears as the factionless leader who doesn’t look powerful enough to have ever been in Dauntless, no matter how much metallic eye shadow is slathered on her face. I think it’s a diservice to audience by Summit to have us try to believe this dystopian reality is crumbling, but the potential new leader has time for a full face of make up? While they live in a warehouse…
Ultimately, Insurgent is able to handle its violence realistically with the tole, like in the novels, weighing heavy on its characters. Yet the end seems surprisingly upbeat, which makes me wonder what else might be changed down the road. The special effects during the simulations are also beautiful, but did not warrant a 3D release. Lastly, what can be taken away from the film is the humor and charm of Miles Teller. An actor not to miss from last year’s Whiplash, watch out for him and go back to see his film The Spectacular Now with Woodley, just might change your viewing of this series.
Second Helping of Another YA World
March 1, 2015
A Spirited Summer Weepie
July 6, 2014
The Fault In Our Stars (2014).
D: Josh Boone. DP: Ben Richardson. W: Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber (based on John Green’s 2012 novel of the same name). Starring: Shailene Woodley/Ansel Elgort/Nat Wolff/Laura Dern/Sam Trammell/Willem Dafoe/Lotte Verbeek.
At this point no one can deny the box office potential of a young adult fiction film adaptation. However, in a post Twilight and Hunger Games landscape the competition is fierce. With disasters like last year’s Mortal Instruments the turn away from large franchises might find some success with a film like The Fault in Our Stars.
Based on John Green’s new novel, the film harkens back to the basic chemistry of teenage existence. Two youngsters who find a connection and try to navigate their new love. And in this case the leads happen to have cancer, meeting in a cancer support group. Yes tears are inevitable, tears that for me, came in the cinematic experience rather than when reading the book. In a rare occurrence I actually prefer the film to the book, mostly for its visceral quality.
The pitfall of this genre is the hidden borderline between teenage drama and melodrama. Luckily, The Fault In Our Stars never crosses into that territory. Written by the screenwriting team behind The Spectacular Now (2013) and 500 Days of Summer (2009), the script’s ability to handle the subtle and the overt in Green’s plot is admirable. (Both of those films are superior to this one thought.) The film is driven by the chemistry of its leads, Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort. Playing siblings in this year’s Divergent, the pair have an ease about them that shines through the painful context of their courtship. Woodley chopped her hair off to play Hazel, which gives her wiry frame a prepubescent look. Hazel has been through a lot of grown up pain, but has not experienced the emotional life to match it.
The Fault In Our Stars is also loyal to its source material, removing excess story lines and characters that helps keep the film focused on the leads. The stylistic choice of using test bubbles to show the teens texting each other also helps the flow of the story and counteract Hazel’s voice-over. Yet the leads’ charms cannot distract from the obvious use of musical ques to jar the audience. The poppy soundtrack actually distracts at some beautiful moments, especially on the couple’s trip to Amsterdam to meet Hazel’s favorite writer. Played by Willem Dafoe who wasn’t nearly as grotesque as one would imagine from the book, but thankfully didn’t gimmick it up. Ultimately the film doesn’t bring much that is new to the teen landscape, but at least puts down the weapons and creatures in favor of some feelings.
I’m Just a Teenage Dystopian Story, Baby
March 29, 2014
Divergent (2014).
D: Neil Burger. W: Evan Daugherty & Vanessa Taylor. DP: Alwin H. Kuchler. Starring: Shailene Woodley/Theo James/Kate Winslet/Jai Courtney/Ashley Judd/Tony Goldwyn/Miles Teller/Zoe Kravitz/Ansel Elgort/Maggie Q/Ray Stevenson/Mekhi Phifer/Ben Lloyd-Hughes/Christian Madsen. (Based on Veronica Roth’s YA novel.)
Another addition to the YA film adaptation catalog, Divergent joins fellow Liongsate/Summit owned Twilight and The Hunger Games as the surge to bring profitable YA book series to the screen continues. Concluded in three books, Veronica Roth’s series has had the chance to sit back and scope out its franchise predecessors (and natural box office comparisons). Director Neil Burger did just that and was able to create a look that feels independent of previous franchises.
Lacking the sappiness of spineless Bella in Twilight and gaining the active strength of Katniss in The Hunger Games, Divergent centers on Tris Prior whose grown up in a post-apocalyptic/post-epic big battle world where citizens are categorized around basic human personality traits and values. Honesty (Candor), selflessness (Abnegation), bravery (Dauntless), harmony (Amnity) and intelligence (Erudite) groups attempt to coexist with each faction taking on certain community responsibilities. At the age of sixteen members of each faction take a test to guide them into picking their adult faction. And of course this is where the heroine is to be found. Discovering she might not fit in any one faction, Shailene Woodley’s Tris makes a choice. And despite it’s derivative nature the basic fact that author Veronica Roth has our female protagonist make choices allows the series to be compelling to read and to watch. Tris is not a reactor like Bella, she is not a victim of circumstance, rather she forges her own future. Much like The Hunger Games‘ Katniss, Tris is a female character not defined by trite romance, but her convictions and choices she makes.
On critics and audiences’ radar since 2011’s Oscar winning film The Descendants, Shailene Woodley adds this film to her canon of young adult themed work. Last summer’s The Spectacular Now was a festival darling that put Woodley back on the map and will be joined by this summer’s adaption of John Green’s novel, The Fault in Our Stars. Woodley is all limbs, hair and eyes here, lending a softness to Tris that nicely expresses her selfless upbringing. Her chemistry with Four (Theo James) works and is paced well against the accelerating backdrop of the film’s main plot (intelligence is power to overcome human nature? snooze). Although neither performance are deeply complex or genre breaking, James and Woodley build enough layers with what’s given to them. It is still young adult fair, right?
Striding in and out of Tris’ way is Kate Winslet as Jeanine Matthews, emphasizing the boring bits of the script and clear breeze for the Oscar winner, she’ll at least have more to do in the next film. Ashley Judd is remarkably resurrected as Tris’ mother although both her and Woodley wear far too much movie makeup to be living in a selfless and no mirrors allowed community. Menacing and the most memorable though is Jai Courtney as Eric, the dauntless leader and James’ Four’s rival. Pierced and tattooed, Courtney exudes the true nature of his faction and adds weight to the impending darkness and death in the plot. Both Judd and Courtney will remind audiences that ultimately this is more an action movie than anything else.
Although not tackling the sequel, Insurgent, director Neil Burger creates a rustic world that visually blends the new with the decrepit. However, at certain points music cues provide silly breaks in the flow of the film and as quickly as Woodley’s bruises seem to disappear the trappings of the genre seem to reappear (cue the concluding voiceover). Yet, Divergent is engrossing and evokes less eye rolling than is normally expected. Remaining mostly faithful to its source novel, a few less people die and certain events and characters are condensed, it surely is a decent addition to the YA canon.
Fortunes & Misfortunes
December 23, 2011
The Descendants (2011).
D: Alexander Payne. DP: Phedon Papamichael. W: Payne/Nat Faxon/Jim Rash (based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings). Starring: George Clooney/Shailene Woodley/Amara Miller/Nick Krause/Beau Bridges/Matthew Lillard/Judy Greer/Mary Birdsong/Rob Huebel/Robert Forster.
Hot from the festival circuit, Alexander Payne’s new film, The Descendants, has found nice footing at movie theaters across the country. The only true test will be how it fairs through award season.
Since 2004’s Sideways, this is the first project that Payne has both written and directed and he does the story credit here. The Descendants is a multi-layered story that thankfully doesn’t try to be too complex in its delivery. Following George Clooney’s Matt King as he grapples with the pending decision of whether or not to sell his family’s virgin Hawaiian land, the story also finds Clooney’s character dealing with his wife’s accident that leaves her in a serious coma. Top it all off Clooney finds out said wife has been cheating on him and decides to bring home his teenage daughter to be with him, help him, and be at her mother’s bedside.
Clooney does well here, not only is the actor aging gracefully, but his lovable, yet defunct dad role offers Clooney some moments of tenderness and quiet restraint audiences haven’t seen in awhile. However, no one has to do too much. Payne uses the Hawaiian locations well, doesn’t over indulge in his use of voice-over, and thankfully allows both of Clooney’s daughters in the film to be fully realized characters rather than shallow archetypes. Specifically, Shailene Woodley as Clooney’s teenage daughter Alexandra shines. She feels fresh, with just enough rebellion in her. Woodley, although statuesque and gorgeous by any comparison, is not dolled up or overdone, giving her character a realistic feel matched by her younger sister Scottie (Amara Miller).
The betrayal aspect of the plot is handled with the right amount of anger, fear, and curiosity that makes the film engaging and heart wrenching at the same time. One of my few complaints is at times the pace really slows down and the whole film could have been a bit tighter. Also, the other couple met in act three feels a bit archetypal next to such a well rounded family (and friend in Nick Krause’s Sid). Regardless though, The Descendants ends up feeling cathartic in a way. A lot of pain and decisions rest on one man who is quickly learning how fast one’s life can be re-focused and the repercussions those decisions have in and outside of his life. Hopefully, we all figure this out before its too late.