As
Twilight comes
to an end and
Harry Potter becomes a
thing of the past, there is an opening for a new teen movie franchise and
The Hunger Games seems set to take the
crown from the two aforementioned cinematic behemoths.
Set at an undisclosed future date in North
America, The Hunger Games has
created a world in which the continent is reeling from an uprising some seven
decades ago in which twelve districts rose up in defiance of the Capitol and
were beaten into submission in a tale with echoes of the American Civil war. As
a punishment for the twelve insubordinate districts, each year two children, one
boy and one girl, between the ages of 12-18 are randomly selected from each
district to fight to the death in an arena, a fight that is shown on television.
Of the 24 ‘contestants’ there can only be one to emerge alive. In District 12, Katniss
Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) lives with her mother and young sister and hunts
with her bow to get enough food for her family to eat. When reaping day arrives
it is Katniss’ sister Primrose (Willow Shields) who is chosen to represent
their district. Fearing her sister has no chance of survival, Katniss herself
volunteers to go in place of her young sister and along with Peeta Mellark (Josh
Hutcherson) she travels to the Capitol to begin her training and take part in
The Hunger Games.
I was unfamiliar with the source text as I am not a teenage girl and what I read and heard before going in lead me to believe that
it was simply
Battle Royale for the
teen audience. This disappointed me as
Battle
Royale is one of my favourite films but I still went in to the screening
with an open mind. While being probably as close to a
Battle Royale remake
America will ever dare to make, it
is certainly no
Battle Royale rip-off.
The films look and design is excellent. District 12 feels like the back end of
nowhere and its people seem well and truly downtrodden. Before the arrival of
people from the Capitol, it feels as though you could be watching people from
the late 19
th Century. There is no computerised technology and the
people seem to live very simple lives. The Capitol on the other hand couldn’t
be more different. It is a gleaming, modern city with a futuristic look yet
with a somewhat historical Communist iconoclasticism to it. This gives the
impression of complete control over its citizens. The people of the Capitol
look as though they are on loan from a Terry Gilliam/Tim Burton collaboration
with their over the top hair, makeup and costume. Their look couldn’t be more
different from that of the District 12 residents.
For me the film is split into two very distinct halves. The
first part is the picking and training of Katniss and the others and the second
is the Hunger Games themselves. Jennifer Lawrence gives an inspired performance
as Katniss. She is fearless and motherly, headstrong and dedicated. She proves
here that Winter’s Bone was no fluke
and uses this film to show the world what a fantastic actress she is. Joining
her in the Capitol is Caesar
Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) as an outrageous and over the top presenter of the
Games. He has got his character down to a tee and is excellent. Also joining
Katniss in the Capitol is an almost unrecognizable Elizabeth Banks and Woody ‘Cooler
than Sam Jackson in a fridge’ Harrleson, both of whom give fantastic if brief
performances. Even Lenny Kravitz pops up and gives a solid performance.
The first part of the film gives us a chilling
glimpse into the possibilities of our own future in which reality TV becomes
ever more shocking and its contestants will go that step further to win.
During the contestants time in the Capitol they are showered with fame and
riches but then have to fight literally for their lives in what can be read as
a simile for the world of reality TV.
Before the Games begin, the tension is racked up and Lawrence’s Katniss is
seen to be shaking with fear. The violence during the Games is kept to a few
brief moments in order to get the certification needed to allow its target
audience to see the film. The film makers had to tread a very thin line between
the violence of the story and the fact that it is a film aimed at a young
audience. For me, they did a good job but came down slightly too conservatively.
I understand that here in the UK cuts were made to get a 12A certificate and
obviously that is what the film makers wanted but considering this is a film
featuring children murdering each other, the fights, gore and violence are
quite weak. The Games themselves actually take a back seat to the story of
survival and affection between Katniss and Peeta. There are dramatic fight
scenes and emotional deaths but it is very much the story of two people willing
each other to survive. This part of the film did remind me of Battle Royale and while I believe that
film does a much better job of its battle, The
Hunger Games creates a dangerous atmosphere which had me gripped. Unfortunately
I felt that the Games ending were a bit of a let down but they are obviously
setting us up for the second film in the series. The actors portraying the
children were all excellent but Amandla
Stenberg deserves special mention for her wonderful and emotional portrayal of Rue.
She shows character and ability beyond her years.
The director Gary Ross has judged the tone correctly. He hasn’t
given it a glossy Hollywood feel but is more
melancholic. He has managed not to go too far in the other direction as well
and the film remains very accessible. On the downside, considering the nature
of what we are seeing, there are very few shocks in the film and all but one of
the Games’ participants look far too old to be playing children. One character
is often seen but we learn little about him and it is obvious that he will
feature in a future film. I haven't read any of the future books but I can already feel another Edward/Bella/Jacob coming on. The film was also not bold enough for me but perhaps
they are just setting the groundwork for the next film.
To sum up, The Hunger
Games is an impressive film with great performances throughout and a
gripping and interesting story. It creates a world I want to find out more
about and look forward to revisiting. It has its flaws and is likely to appeal
more to younger viewers but is much stronger than the likes of the early Harry Potter films and is the sort of
smart film that young audiences should be watching.
7/10
