Well, after taking
a long hiatus (thanks to Pumpkins at the Park and then needing to recover from
Pumpkins), I think I’m ready to be back. I’ll go back to our
semi-regularly-scheduled Top 5 Tuesday next week, but for now, I shall opine!
Also, I KNOW this
movie came out in March (and, in fact, is now out on DVD), but I told you I’m
working through a backlog. Just go with it, people.
Synopsis: After a brutal North American civil war,
the powerful Capital of Panem emerges, ruling the 12 remaining Districts with
an iron fist. Each year, to remind them of their treason, each of the 12
districts is to provide 2 tributes – one boy and one girl between the ages of
12 and 18 – to fight in a bloody battle to the death known as the Hunger Games.
As the 74th Games approaches, 16 year-old Katniss Everdeen readies
her 12-year old sister for her first Reaping. Since her father’s death, Katniss
has been the main provider for her family, illegally using her hunting and gathering
skills to keep her mother and sister alive. But when Prim is chosen as the girl
tribute for District 12, Katniss must put those skills to a different use –
taking her sister’s place and surviving in the arena.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10
Discussion Points: Overall, I thought The Hunger Games was a fantastic adaptation. Everyone knows I’m a
purist, and I tend to be overly critical of filmmakers adapting novels I love
to the screen (for evidence, see everything I’ve ever written on the Harry Potter films). However, I think
Gary Ross does a great job with this first installation of the series. The
beginning does feel a little rushed to me, as is the case with most
book-to-film adaptations. Granted, there is a tremendous amount of information
to cover – Katniss’ backstory, her friendship with Gale, and the political
landscape of Panem, just for starters – so I have a hard time getting into a
snit over it. There’s only so much they can explain with voice over, text
panes, or obvious exposition-centric dialogue, so some things are going to be
left out in the hopes that they can be inferred or explained later in the film.
I’m not sure, though, how easy the beginning of the film is to understand for
someone who hadn’t read the book.
One thing I loved, oddly enough,
were all the “extras” they added in during the Games themselves. So much of the
commentary on the “action” was incredibly helpful in adding details and
supplementing the audience’s knowledge in a way that doesn’t feel intrusive or
too obvious. For one, it helps the audience fill in information about the other
Tributes’ personalities and actions during the Games that Katniss was only able
to infer. And, to be honest, the first part of the Games is Katniss doing a
whole lot of nothing, and having that commentary served as a nice break to help
move things along. Also, I think showing some of what was going on in the
Districts – especially in District 11 after Rue died – was incredibly helpful
in setting the stage for Catching Fire
and Mockingjay.
I think my favorite thing about this
adaptation was that you didn’t only see the world through Katniss. There are so
many things going on that are bigger than Katniss’ struggles in the Arena, and
it was nice to pull away from that just a bit to get an idea of the bigger
picture. I especially loved seeing how much control the Gamemakers had. In the
books, you know that everything is controlled within the Arena (and if you had
any doubts, Catching Fire should have
erased them), but seeing the Gamemaker’s command center makes it so much more
real and terrifying. It makes it completely obvious that Katniss wasn’t really
supposed to survive that fire or her encounter afterwards with the Careers. Their
level of control in the Arena really underscores that it’s not really a “game”,
and you can’t get “lucky”. While luck certainly does play into it, being
strong, talented with a weapon, and having a will to survive won’t always get
you out of the Arena alive. If the Gamemakers don’t want you to win, you won’t
– unless, of course, you’re Katniss and give a big, hearty “screw you” to the
Gamemakers.
In addition to being a really neat
adaptation that, I think, adds to the story rather than detracting from it, I
was totally impressed with the cast. So many of those actors were absolutely
perfect for their parts – it was awesome! I’ve got to say, though, that my
favorites were three “minor” characters – Effie, Cinna, and Caesar Flickerman.
Elizabeth Banks did such a wonderful job with Effie by making the character
feel like she could be real. In reading the series, Effie was sort of a
caricature for much of the first book because that’s how Katniss sees her.
Banks’ portrayal, though, balances the crazy Capital affectations with the fact
that Effie is a real person with real feelings that ought to be considered. I
will admit, I was a little hesitant about casting Lenny Kravitz as Cinna, but I
think he performed brilliantly. Cinna was everything I had wanted – kind, fair,
and incredibly caring, even knowing that he probably wouldn’t see Katniss come
out of the Arena alive. And, finally, Stanley freaking Tucci. I love the Tucc
more than I can possibly explain, and I was over the moon excited about this
casting decision. What I love about Tucci’s Flickerman is that you could tell Caesar
was putting on a show, but you could also tell that he genuinely cared about
the Tributes. All in all, great casting choices.
So what’s left to talk about – oh,
right, Katniss and Peeta. I’ve never really made my outright dislike of Peeta a
secret, so I wasn’t expecting my opinion to be changed because of the film.
While I still really do not like Peeta, I at least believed the Peeta in the film. I just have a really hard time believing
that book-Peeta can be a real person – his responses to everything just seemed
to perfect. Plus, I find it incredibly unlikely that any 16-year old boy could
love a girl that much when he’s never
really talked to her. It’s like Peeta loved the idea of Katniss, and when he
finally got to know her, all of those flaws that ought to have pushed him away
actually drew him closer to her, which I never really understood. Maybe Katniss
and Gale had to grow up faster because they were taking care of their families,
but comparatively, Peeta had it easy.
Movie-Peeta,
though, I believed in. He was awkward and unsure of himself, just like a
16-year old should be. I think the reason that Peeta bothered me less in the
film is because the filmmakers wisely chose not to make the entire film a love
story. Yes, Katniss and Peeta’s “relationship” is important to the plot, but
it’s not the entire focus, especially for Katniss. She barely gives Peeta’s
feelings for her a second thought until she realizes there’s a way they could
both win the Games. It’s only after the announcement that Katniss really tries
to fake being in love with Peeta, and it’s that fake emotion that she counts on
to save her life after the Games. By not focusing too much on the love story, I
think Gary Ross comes out with a better movie. The Hunger Games is not Twilight
with archery – it’s a fundamentally different story about standing up for what
is right and fighting for freedom.
My
biggest concern, though, with Katniss and Peeta’s “relationship” is that I
don’t know how the citizens of the Capitol bought their star-crossed lover’s
routine, because I sure didn’t. Even knowing that Katniss was just acting, I
still didn’t really see anything that screamed “love story” to me (not that I’m
complaining!). I also wish they’d more clearly addressed Katniss’s feelings
towards Peeta at the end. It’s not just that Katniss was doing what she had to
in order to save their lives – it’s that Katniss herself is confused about how
she feels. It’s clear she cares for Peeta, but she also cares deeply for Gale.
I think sidestepping the issue does a disservice to Catching Fire, since so much of the beginning of that novel hinges
on Peeta not understanding Katniss’s feelings. Overall, though, I was
incredibly happy with the adaptation, and not nearly as critical as I’d been
expecting, which was a nice change of pace for me.
Mischief Managed,
Slim Pearl
Silver-Feather
Currently Reading: Quarantine: The Loners, by Lex Thomas
Books Read in 2012:
26
