The Divide Review

15th Apr 2012

If you love to geek out on C-list stars then The Divide will be for you. Firstly you get to see familiar faces that you are glad are still getting work; and secondly you’ll get to see them get their teeth into some gritty character work.

I purely wanted to see this for the cast involved. Michael Biehn (who just does not seem to work enough), Courtney B Vance (Some may recognize him from TV, I remember him as the Sonar guy from The Hunt For Red October), Rosanna Arquette as well as the likes of Milo whatshisface from Heroes. The premise sounds daft, and I had low expectations. As us film geeks know only too well that a film full of C-List stars is generally destined for the video rack and a non-existant ratting on rotten tomatoes.

The expectations were met in early scenes as the world comes to an end and a group of tenants from a high-rise apartment building end up hiding out in the cellar with the Super (Biehn – looking ragged in the face, but totally in shape!). From here it’s anyone’s guess where the plot goes as there is the fear of radiation; outside forces attempting to bring harm upon the group and eventually simply being trapped together for a prolonged period which brings about a “divide” betweenthem. But the film keeps changing its track as minutes tick by. Sympathetic characters become very unlikable. And even those that go a bit nuts have quieter moments of sadness about them suggesting there is more to their abrupt nature. Little by little the film develops into something all the more interesting.

There is some solid work done by the whole cast – admittedly some people are not used as well as others, and there is the odd black sheep in the group who needs to perfect their craft a little bit more. But it is the overall dark tone of it all that keeps it interesting and those little moments with each character that make us wonder all the more about them. Michael Eklund in particular gets perhaps the most bizarre character arc to portray, and yet despite the “out there” aspect of it he manages to sustain moments that keep his humanity intact without every coming off as too over the top.

The film was directed by Xavier Gens who was responsible for the Hitman film adaptation of the popular game. He at least displays visual flare from time to time with this new film. I must say I was very surprised at how interested it kept me (Especially considering how barely awake I was when I watched it). So thumbs up to some great performances and a very downbeat and unpredictable plot. This one could well be a cult favourite.