User reviews

This film is about a man and his wife who are living in a post-virus-apocalypse where it seems much of the world has been rendered unlivable. Soon, the man is told by another man that he has a chance to go back in time to "save the past".

Yes you've seen this concept before, yes its probably going to feel familiar.

The film has some beautiful shots in the future, with wide shots of an endless expanse of nothingness and the clearly horrible life they are living. We are even shown a city in the distance that is surrounded by this waste, showing us that it is very likely that this is a global pandemic, with everything surrounding major city centers being obliterated. Unfortunately, we never SEE the city to see if its a ruins, if people live there, or if its safe/unsafe, and only meet a couple characters in the past. When we reach the past, its a lot of drab, gloomy, dreary mostly-shot-at-night city-life shots.

None of the actors were anything to write home about, but they did a passing job for people I've never heard of (I didnt check if they have other credits under their belt).

Theres not much to talk about to sets, the scenery (other than the 'future'), or even the plot, which is quite sub-standard. This movie could have cut 45m from its run time and made an awesome short, OR it could have added something in those wasted minutes to give some impression of care about the characters or world building or anything really, but no, we get a bare-bones plot, some shaky sci-fi, and some questions left unanswered. There is even a clever little twist at the end that ties it all together in a bow at the end (If you didnt catch it, watch the end, then re-watch the future wasteland bit at the start).

The movie is by no means BAD, I rather enjoyed it for what it was. I am, however, a glutton for sci-fi, time travel, and the hope for a new view of the genres. There are no big action scenes, no explosions, no fight scenes, no daring rescues, etc. Its a rather slow movie with a respectable sub-90m run time. If the movie trimmed the fat and added something more interesting in its place I would likely have given it several stars more! However as it stand, its a mediocre film that needed a little more OOMPF.

If you are not into slow paced sci-fi, you will probably turn it off in the first 15m. If you hang in there, there is still a pacing problem but theres more to look at than the "nothing" in the 'future'. Its worth a watch when you have nothing else on your plate!

What started off as a promising premise quickly lost steam... and never really made a point

Was drawn into seeing 'Diverge' with a cool poster/cover, a very intriguing if not innovative premise and as someone with a general appreciation for the genre as said many times. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive.

'Diverge' is a film it doesn't do enough with its potential (although there are far bigger wastes of potential in film) and could have been much better. 'Diverge' is very weak with a lot of big problems. It certainly could have been far worse, considering the large number of films seen recently being mediocre at best and terrible at worst. There is very little to recommend here but it's not completely irredeemable.

The best thing about 'Diverge' is the sets/scenery, that look like a lot of care and time went into constructing them. Rather than limited and drab, they have elaborate atmosphere and they are nicely and slickly shot.

Music is similarly atmospheric, and avoids being over-bearing or too much of one mood, the sound isn't too cheap either. The lead acting is reasonable.

Rest of the acting however is pretty negligible. The whole cast are ill served though by very clichéd and sketchy characterisation and a too sparse script that felt incomplete and with a lot of ramble and cheese.

Despite the sets impressing, it can be too obvious that there were budget limitations and that it was made in haste. The editing is sloppy in particular. The story doesn't really get off the ground (the direction likewise), with a lot of the film dragging as a result of being over-stretched with the amount of content more suited to a short film, and clarity is not a strong suit, it is not easy to follow at times and it is rife with ridiculousness and implausibility too glaring to ignore. The ending felt under-cooked and the pace drags with too many scenes that go on too long and easily could have been excised.

In conclusion, weak. 3/10 Bethany Cox

This is an extremely slow-moving film with a pointless ending. I was going to give it 3 stars until I saw the number of bogus hype-reviews here, and decided to blow the whistle. It is neither well-filmed nor thought provoking. It is just another time travel film without resolution and few redeeming qualities. Everything you'll see here has been done before, done better, and in a more interesting format. If you are one of those people who has found time travel movies have become cliche and boring-- this will do nothing to change your opinion.

At first glance this film is a pleasant little discovery. The problem is it's neither as fully realized nor as polished as it should be to qualify as that one-in-a-million-diamond-in-the-rough indie film discerning viewers search for. For my money it is not as bad, nor as great as other reviewers have suggested. But if you are tired of the usual one-dimensional mindless drivel flooding many streaming services you could do a lot worse than Diverge. I would just temper your expectations a bit. It is a low-key, intimate variation of Twelve Monkeys (or any project where someone travels back in time to avert a pandemic) although it provides some original variations of its own. It is fairly intelligent - if not as intelligent as it, or it's characters, should be. Some of the scenes feel underdeveloped as scientists and pharmaceutical big-wigs talk about the points pertinent to the plot, but do not seem to be well-versed in the science or even high level corporate manipulations. It is competently made on all levels, with believable performances all around - although Ivan Sandomire is weakest any time he has to stray from introspection. The director is to be applauded for creating some visually interesting images, managing a low budget effectively, and being brave enough to embrace a certain visual poetry. Yet at the same time the film lacks energy and momentum. It's a little too quiet for it's own good and I can forgive a leisurely pace (I am a fan of Tarkovsky's Stalker, and that is almost literally three hours in which nothing happens). It might stem from Sandomire's reserve. It might be the filmmaker's choice. I mention it as a fact, not necessarily as a criticism. I reserve my criticism for the ending, where in the interest of being "clever", the film takes the all-too common misstep for Time Travel films and stumbles into violating it's own shaky logic and ends up nonsense. With all the effort and good intentions expended by the writer/director up to this point I am disappointed he didn't recognize this (and a few other moments) for the flaws they imposed on his work. But if you are the type of viewer who can accept a twist or surprise for it's own sake then I doubt it will distract you as it did me. There's a lovely little poetry to it - I'll grant you that. It just makes no sense. Overall I wish the film could have done more with all it's potential, but it's a film I will say kind things about to my friends, and they all know how critical I can be.

If you are looking for a hidden gem look elsewhere. Just like the Oscars movies, this one is only for the "professional" reviewers. Its fairly boring. The acting is horrendous at times. Not a good combo.

Great film, beautifully shot, thought provoking and not standard Hollywood crash boom bang crap. Don't miss it if you have a chance to watch it.

I must have watched about 15 min worth and turned it off.

Almost no dialogue. Many flashes to a wishful alternative happy reality like a flashback movie. Like when she picks up a sea shell to her ear, then the movie flashes from the dystopian salt flats world to a happy world -- where she is standing at the beach actually hearing the waves.

I normally like artsy movies, foreign films, and even dystopian movies like the one with Viggo Mortensen's "The Road."

But this was far from anything I liked.

All in all a movie that you really do have to watch in its entirety to appreciate the plot, and a movie that you have to forgive the co-stars for being somewhat cardboard in their performances. But a movie worth the time if you have an open mind and are okay with seeing a time travel movie that a) doesn't attempt to represent the methodology behind the activity and b) doesn't add those silly paradox components where people vanish or explode if they come into contact with themselves from a different chronological pathway!

I could go on and on but it would just be blah, blah, blah. Really, don't waste your time. This was as bad as it could possibly get.

Disjointed would be a better name. But I suppose anything passes as "art" these days one can imagine the roots of this foofer. Barrista: "Hey, you want another double light skim almond latte?" Writer: "Not now. I'm working on my tour de force, my submission to Cannes. It's brilliant. It writes itself, requires no skilled actors and can be entirely filmed with one camera crew in Death Valley and Santa Monica." Barrista: "So let me know when you want a refill."

Caught this at FilmQuest Film Festival in 2016. It was one of the best movies I saw at the festival that year. The lead actor Ivan Sandomire is amazing and I hope to see him in more movies. This is a thoughtful movie that takes its time, but that's what sets it aside and makes it a meditative, beautiful piece about fate, consequences, and sacrifice.

This is one of the best movies I have ever seen. It's a beautifully shot, well acted, smartly crafted drama/suspense/thriller. The music and sound effects, which come to surface, for the most part, during the second half of the film, are fantastic.

The only 2 things I would change about this movie are: 1. Reduce the first 20 minutes to 5 minutes. It took a while for the film to get going and it leads the watcher, at first glance, to assume the film will be a slow-moving meditation on relationships during within a crisis situation. 2. Add more music and sound effects to the first 20-30 minutes of the movie.

I watched this movie at a half-packed premiere in a run down area of Bushwick Brooklyn, at the "House of Yes", a performance space/dance hall, on a rainy Friday. Perhaps the rain and cold, even though it's only late September, prevented people from coming out. Those who did brave the inclement weather were rewarded. This film is a gem.

This film is, quite literally, one of the best movies that I have ever seen. It's better than most of the movies that are in the movie theaters. Yes, it is that good. The story and plot are clever, keep you guessing. The sound effects and mood music are spectacular. The acting is good. The cinematography is good.

This movie combines the best of drama and suspense with the flavor of a thriller.

I hope the filmmakers and directors get this movie on a provider like NetFlix, Hulu, or Amazon or all three. People need to see this movie. It's the kind of movie that stays with you. A fantastic movie in so many different ways.

Bravo!

Went into this knowing nothing about it and was riveted throughout. The originality of the story makes this a standout film.

Lots of plot changes, stay tuned and don't give up.

Seriously, another movie about a pandemic? You'd think in 2016, people would stop being so paranoid. Like a pandemic could really ever happen in our modern world. Ridiculous...

That being said.. this has a nice, slow burn that moves inexorably toward a gripping conclusion. If you're gonna watch another over-the-top, silly movie about pandemics- this is the one.

I found this film to be brilliantly executed with excellent storytelling but definitely not a 'paint by number' plot. This is not a film where you can get up and go to the bathroom w/o pausing. If you do, you might not 'get it' and I have the feeling that most of the reviewers didn't get it. This film has staying power in my mind and that gives it the mark of a good film in my opinion.