Divergence (2007)

A wounded soldier returning form Iraq finds solace in the arms of a mysterious and beautiful woman.

Director:

Patrick J. Donnelly

Writer:

Patrick J. Donnelly

Stars:

Traci Ann Wolfe, Jakob Hawkins, Marci Adilman

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Traci Ann Wolfe	...	Clare O' Neil
Jakob Hawkins	...	Tim Lawson
Marci Adilman	...	Heidi Lipton
Ben Hindell	...	Dave Boyle
Jeannine Kaspar	...	Jill
Mary Looram	...	Constance
Daniel Harnett	...	Chris
Al Cerullo	...	Himself
Howard Green	...	John Lawson
Jim Rider	...	Father Sudlik
Eileen Lacy	...	Lilly
Joy Seligsohn	...	Gertrude
Rebecca Scythes	...	Waitress
Doug Kennedy	...	Party Guest
Tim Reilly	...	Paryt Guest

Storyline

"Divergence" is the story of two people at a crossroads in their lives. Tim Lawson, a helicopter pilot wounded in Iraq and looking for some peace, has come to the seaside community with the dread of his imminent return to the war. Clare O'Neil has lost her husband and child to a drunk driver, and now has sequestered herself in a small beach-front bungalow in the middle of winter. Blocking out contact with friends and family, she exists in a haze of prescription pills and alcohol. These two lost and broken people come together and find in each other the will to begin their lives anew.

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Plot Keywords:

soldier | iraq war | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes life takes a wrong turn.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

MySpace Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 March 2007 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Lavallette, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema Five Films

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by Making 'Divergence' (2009)

User Reviews

Variety Review By Lisa Nesselson

By Lisa Nesselson (Reviewed at Avignon Film Festival, France.)

An affecting portrait of two wounded souls healing as best they can on the New Jersey Shore in early 2003, "Divergence" boasts nuanced, quietly devastating perfs by relative newcomers Traci Ann Wolfe and Jakob Hawkins. Profoundly American in its evocation of duty and personal responsibility, pic also allows that there's such a thing as grief that sheer gumption can't remedy. The specter of America's presence in Iraq colors every frame. First pic by d.p. Patrick J. Donnelly shows talent all around. Lanky U.S. Army airborne helicopter pilot Tim Lawson (Hawkins) shows up on his chilly, sparsely populated home turf. On temporary leave due to a bad leg wound, Tim isn't terribly talkative with his more voluble pal, Dave (Ben Hindell).

Thanks to perky realtor Heidi Lipton (Marci Adilman, nailing an American archetype), Tim rents a beach cottage in which to recuperate and reflect. His neighbor is Clare O'Neil (Traci Ann Wolfe), who is grappling with at-first-unspecified grief, possibly related to the events of Sept. 11, but maybe not.

Lithe, blonde, good-boned Clare is cover-girl pretty and far from dumb, but unable to make sense of the overwhelming, senseless loss that has turned her life inside out. It emerges that she left a handsome home to drown her sorrow in alcohol -- so as not to drown herself, if the way she stares at the mighty tides at all hours is any indication.

Living with grief that refuses to be subsumed in distraction, central protags have been thrown off course. By proxy, the pic illuminates in small, relevant ways, how the nation itself has presumably veered off course in recent years.

With it's delicate, tentative rhythms and spare dialogue, narrative both bucks and embraces the notion of "getting on with" one's life in the wake of tragedy.

Stand-out scenes include Tim's visit to his father in a retirement home, Tim's domestic helicopter outing with his former employer who served in Vietnam, and Clare's tense meeting with her patrician mother who cares for her daughter, but may care about appearances more.

Unhurried yet suspenseful venture may strike some as needlessly downbeat, but pic's choice to often let dismay trump solace is what gives it its strength.

Camera (color, HD), Donnelly; editor, Robert Mead; music, Ronen Landa; art director, Brandon Cheek; set decorator, Adrina Garibian; costume designer, Lynne Curtis; sound (Dolby), Justin Gray; assistant director, Yori Tondrowski. Reviewed at Avignon Film Festival (competing), June 22, 2007. Running time: 113 MIN.