The Divide (2011)
Starring: Lauren German, Michael Biehn, Milo Ventimiglia
Writers: Karl Mueller, Eron Sheenan
Director: Xavier Gens
****Pretty safe to read, as I don't give away much more than what you can gather by watching trailers or reading cast interviews****
Synopsis:
As nuclear warheads drop down on New
York city, a group of apartment residents descend to the basement to
try and survive.
Review:
Ya know, I like movies that offer up a
good time. Movies that make me laugh, or just an action packed thrill
ride, or a fucking gorefest of a horror film. But on the same token,
sometimes I'm in the mood for a film that just makes me feel like
shit. A movie that leaves me cold. A movie that gives me a little
less hope for humanity. Xavier Gens definitely took me down a
notch on the shitting rainbows scale with The Divide. While I enjoy films that mix genres or throw in a chuckle or two when things get
a bit too crazy, I really applaud when one says “Fuck that” and
sticks with the gritty, grimy ugliness it's trying to convey.
Now, this aint no exciting ride through
an apocalyptic New York full of explosions and shit; this is more
about the deterioration of man. Heavier on drama than anything else,
The Divide aims to demonstrate the possible effects on people after a
cataclysmic event. Get down on this level for a minute - You're
trapped in the basement of your apartment building with other tenants
you barely know or don't know at all. As the days pass by, these
people get restless around you. They change... YOU change. There's
nowhere to go, and there's no room for talk about the good ole times.
That's all gone, everything is gone, and it's not coming back...
forget about it. Try to fucking imagine that. I have no
clear idea of what it would be like to try and survive after nuclear destruction, but this film felt pretty realistic, and
that scares the piss outta me. I honestly think I'd rather have my face melted off and be done with it.
On a visual level, The Divide is
straight un-fucking-stoppable. There's nothing beautiful to look at (unless you want to count Lauren German),
but the cinematography somehow manages to capture all the gloom in a
breathtaking way. The film carries all kinds of brilliant camera
angling, and I love the many times we get to travel through the group
as if we're really there, living in the shit with them. Tons of
zoom-outs to wide shots capturing the full scale of claustrophobia.
It's amazing, I'll leave it at that.
I'm damn impressed with the lot
of the characters, too, and performances are solid. I
love Michael Biehn in pretty much everything, but he is totally
on top of his game here. If there is anything or anyone to steal a smile from you
while watching this bleak depiction of survival, it's gonna be him.
I don't mean the dude is delivering hokey lines; it's just that his
character has a 'no bullshit fuck you' attitude, which I dig, and Biehn fires on
all cylinders. It was straight up awesome to watch him work in this
type of film. Equally impressive in their roles are Milo
Ventimiglia and Michael Eklund. Lauren German is good too, but I
honestly wish she had just a bit more depth. The whole cast is really
on point. I can't go into explanations, so I'm just gonna say the
people in this story go through a lot of extreme shit (obviously), and it has to take a lot to perform in a film like this. I was just
reading an interview with Michael Biehn, where he revealed that there
was no fixed script. They had to use improvisation and
compete with one another, which led to some hostility and even
fighting, in some instances. I gotta say if this is the case, well
played Mr. Gens. For me, it really helped capture the fucked up and
depressing tone a film like this needs.
The Divide isn't all that gory, to be
honest, but there's sure as hell some deeply intense moments. A few
times I got uncomfortable, even. I'm not saying that as a complaint,
as I feel when a film is capable of pulling awkwardness out of you
while not going over the top or sometimes leaving things up to you to
interpret, that's a powerful thing. Lastly, there's a few
visual FX shots that are goddamn amazing. Shit left me with my jaw
dropped open.
There is one thing that kinda
disappointed me here, and it's the musical score. I'm a big fan of
music in films, and it's an element that can either make or break a
scene. It wasn't the music itself I was disappointed with, it was the
lack of change of music. The opening theme is fucking beautiful and
cold and haunting, and I honestly can't remember the last time a song
played so well to the credits popping up on the screen. But, I feel
like this same composition is used a bit too much throughout the
movie. It works for many moments, but eventually it kinda wore thin
on me. I dunno, less is more or something like that, or just
something different in a few segments would have been nice. With that being said, the
music towards the last bit of the film is full of great buildups and all out intensity. It was really dynamic and fit the
scene perfectly.
Overall, I think The Divide is a damn fucking good film, but it's definitely going to split the audience. It's
not always fast moving, but it's off the chain when it needs
to be. If I were to sum up this flick with one word, I'd just simply
call it madness. There's really no better way to put it. Just
madness.
