When a movie adaptation of one of the biggest young adult series in history brings in the third biggest opening weekend of all time, you just know the movie is too big for just one reviewer. As such, several of us here at the Red Shirt Crew would like to give you our thoughts on the movie that has taken over the popular culture: The Hunger Games.
Setting aside the very fine action elements of this movie, I’d like to focus for a moment on something that was likely overlooked by many viewers but that stood above the plot and the action for me: The look and feel of the world. It is rare to see Hollywood put the effort into making a world come alive, and even less common than that to see them achieve a consistency and a beauty in the world on the level that The Hunger Games managed to pull off.
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I was just the slightest bit skeptical coming into “The Hunger Games” last Thursday night. I’d read the books, and although I liked them very much, I was doubtful about the filmmakers’ ability to create a successful adaptation, particularly in light of the nonsensical “Peeta vs. Gale” obsession. “The Hunger Games” books were never Harry Potter to me — I’ve always thought the writing left something to be desired — but the plots are genius, the characters are real, and the story is something from which we can all learn. (More on that later.) Perhaps most importantly, Katniss is one of a regrettably tiny company of strong female YA film leads, and so I really wanted the movie to get her right. I wasn’t disappointed.
From the very beginning, when a moronically-grinning Caesar Flickerman avers that the games “bring us together”, I was hooked. The sudden flash to Katniss’ home in District 12 (a brilliantly done set reminiscent of the Great Depression), sparked a feeling of tenseness that stayed with me throughout the rest of the film. The lead-up to Prim’s Reaping was painful for me; I think I had clenched my arms together and kept hoping, hoping, hoping even though I knew what was going to happen. An excellent decision on the movie-makers’ part was the way the camera trembled at particularly terrifying moments — I shake when I’m nervous, so it really brought Katniss’ plight home to me.
I could go on about the set forever, but I’ll just say that the Capitol and the Arena were done exactly the way the book described — with a few things added. The originality in some of the Capitol people’s appearances astounded me. And it was flashy, but it wasn’t obnoxious — it didn’t beg for attention, but it did supplement the story in all the right ways. The score also succeeded in this manner — I always think it’s tragic when a movie score draws attention away from events, and unlike the Harry Potter franchise, “The Hunger Games” didn’t do that once. (However, if you’re into that kind of thing, the tracks “Horn of Plenty”, “Searching for Peeta”, and “Rue’s Farewell” are particularly good. “Healing Katniss” is achingly lovely and my personal favorite.)
The two crowning glories of the film were Jennifer Lawrence’s performance as Katniss and the way a shocking young adult book became a tragic, mature, sweeping war film. These two achievements are wound up in each other — Katniss makes the story, and the story blends into Katniss. It’s beautiful to watch.
My favorite scene was the one featuring Katniss in the launch room just before entering the arena, when a perfectly-cast Lenny Kravitz as Cinna speaks to her for perhaps the last time. Lawrence literally shakes, and Kravitz shows painful awareness of the likely outcome. It’s acting genius, and touched me in a way I don’t think any film ever has before — I will admit I cried. Other perfect scenes are Katniss’ first silver parachute, President Snow and his roses, Peeta’s interactions with Haymitch, and the heartbreaking death of Rue.
Reading The Hunger Games, we all knew that it was about the death of children, and that it was horrible. But the film hit the mark in an entirely new way, and when it had finished, I didn’t speak to anyone for a while. Katniss and Peeta were depicted with such grim yet beautiful clarity that I needed to mourn before I could appreciate. And that is the mark of a truly good film.
Twenty Joe Woods Under the Sea
Alright. So I haven’t seen this movie. To be honest, I don’t really have that much of a desire to—I read the first book, but it doesn’t really seem to me like something I’d want to pay eight dollars to go see in theaters. I’ll wait until it’s at the Byrd.
Those of you who have seen/read the first book, however, should be intimately familiar with a character dear to many hearts: Rue. Without giving too much away, she’s from the only district poorer than the main character’s (or, at least, I think) and she plays a very integral role to the book. She’s arguably the second most important female character, and a real character of empowerment for the fans. I’m sure this character’s journey is well portrayed in the film, and this part of the book alone is worth seeing in some manner, be it reading or watching it.
I’m sure most of you, however, have heard of a group of individuals on social networks being, for some reason, outraged over the fact that Rue is black.
Really? Why would this be a problem for anyone? Firstly, Collins says directly in the book:
“…And most hauntingly, a twelve-year-old girl from District 11. She has dark brown skin and eyes, but other than that’s she’s very like Prim in size and demeanor…”
Yet apparently this was enough to surprise some individuals in a time where race issues are coming more and more to light. Thus I propose that racism, as a form of ignorance, is directly correlated with poor reading comprehension.
I want to like this movie. I really do. There’s a solid plot, the characters interact well, and the general design of the movie sets itself up for success. Then why do I feel so…underwhelmed?
Here’s my prognosis. I feel the film suffers from three major flaws: one is poor marketing, one is poor composition, and one is a poor narrative choice. As a disclaimer, I have not read the book.
1) The film relies too much on the following of its readership.
2) The director uses nausea-inducing shaky-cam that detracts from the story at hand.
3) The American empire is far too generic and unremarkable.
Generally speaking, the hype of The Hunger Games outright refuses you even the slightest granule of information regarding the premise of the movie. The whole time of the growing readership and initial hype for the movie, people kept insisting that I read the book, giving generic praise of its quality in both recommendations and in trailers. When I asked what it was about or what made it so good, I generally got a reply like “You just have to read it to get it. Did I mention it’s really good?” What’s so hard to get about kids fighting each other in a game show to survive? Seems pretty straightforward to me. I mean, this isn’t exactly Charles Dickens; this is a popular teen novel.
Parts of the movie were literally unwatchable due to crappy camera-work. I can honestly say this is the first time anything has ever made me motion-sick. Several tense, dramatic, and moving moments were completely shattered by the fact that you can’t tell what’s going on at all. You want us to see this movie, right Gary Ross? Then let us.
Lastly, the totalitarian state was frustratingly droll. I don’t know if this was a flaw of the books or the movie, but there was absolutely nothing that made them unique; they were just another bland Orwellian regime. You could have replaced the oppressors with knights, elves, Nazis, or even aliens without changing the narrative at all. Make your regime stand out from the masses. Do something new instead of using dead tropes like generic police brutality, bad-guy uniformity, and a growing divide between the second and third estates to make your regime evil. Take a risk and surprise us!
All things considered, if you’re looking at killing some time at the movies this weekend, you can do a lot worse than The Hunger Games. It’s a solid story with decent casting, acting, and writing. I just wish they did a little bit more to really make this film shine.
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