Warning: Spoilers ahead! Don’t read any further if you haven’t seen The Hunger Games!
The screen went black and the credits began to roll. I sat there with my mouth agape and slowly turned to look down the row of my friends. Each of them had a similar dazed look on her face. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words would come out. We proceeded to file out of the movie theater in silence, in awe of what we just watched. What could possibly produce such a life-altering/ridiculous reaction? Why, The Hunger Games, of course.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you have probably heard about Suzanne Collins’ best-selling trilogy, The Hunger Games, and the movie adaptation, which was just released this past Friday. The movie has been a long time coming for many, and I ask you to forgive me as I go on a bit of a hipster rant. I first read The Hunger Games in the fall of 2009, my senior year of high school, so I like to say I’ve nearly been with the books since the beginning. I’m a huge Harry Potter fan, so I immediately latched on to the series, happy to fill the void I’d been feeling since HP ended two years prior. I tried to tell everyone I knew about The Hunger Games, but for some reason the idea of a post-apocalyptic novel about children fighting in an arena to the death wasn’t appealing to a lot of people. I was frustrated, but when it was announced less than a year later that a movie was in the works, I knew I would have my day of redemption.
I can now say I had my day, indeed. My friends, who had all succumbed to my harassment about reading the books, were giddy with excitement as we headed to the theater on Friday. I was personally most looking forward to seeing how the cast would bring the book’s characters to life, and I was not disappointed. Jennifer Lawrence, playing the book’s heroine, Katniss Everdeen, had a lot of pressure riding on her, but she pulled off the role fantastically. Because the book is told in the first person, the movie viewers no longer had the advantage of knowing every thought racing through Katniss’ mind at every moment. However, Lawrence made that easy for us with her acting. Katniss isn’t exactly a likeable person, as her mentor Haymitch Abernathy points out, and Lawrence managed to exactly capture her cynicism, reserve, and bravery.
The rest of the casting was, simply put, inspired. Josh Hutcherson IS Peeta Mellark. Not only does he physically look exactly how I imagined Peeta, but he absolutely nailed every facet of Peeta’s personality, especially his sensitive side (Peeta crying on the car ride from District 12…. my heart shattered into a thousand tiny pieces). I was a bit more hesitant about our other young male lead, Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne. I initially thought he was a little too pretty for the gritty role of Gale, but I was pleasantly surprised and am excited to see him take on a bigger role in the next movies.
Supporting these young leads was a spectacular cast of esteemed adult actors. Elizabeth Banks was hilarious as Effie Trinket (The makeup! The outfits! The Capital accent!), Woody Harrelson was flawlessly drunk and belligerent as Haymitch, and do not even get me started on the unadulterated genius that is Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman. Lenny Kravitz as Cinna was unexpected (I was envisioning Jay Manuel from America’s Next Top Model…), but Kravitz truly captured Cinna’s simplicity and quiet brilliance. Also, I have to give a special acknowledgement to the other tributes, especially stand-outs Alexander Ludwig as Cato, Isabelle Fuhrman as Clove, and Amandla Stenberg as Rue (Can I adopt this girl?).
The problem that many other big-name book-to-movie adaptations (namely, Harry Potter and Twilight) have faced is not being able to stand on their own as films. However, director Gary Ross did not allow that to happen, and the movie flowed well and was easy to follow, even if you hadn’t read the book. I must also credit Ross and the screenwriters for the changes that were made from the book, because I ultimately think these made the movie better. One that stands out in my mind is Katniss giving the mockingjay pin to Prim and Prim giving it back to Katniss before she left for the Games (much more meaningful and tear-inducing). An additional scene that I didn’t expect, but really liked, was the uprising in District 11 after Rue’s death, started by, who I’m presuming to be, Rue’s father. I think it truly demonstrated the severity of Katniss’ actions against the Capital by paying homage to Rue, and was foreshadowing of what was to come. I could continue to talk about what I loved for days (seriously I will talk to anyone about this movie- come find me), but I’m going to cut myself off here.
Throughout the film, I laughed and I cried (a lot), and I was constantly hit hard with the reality of the Games, which I think we all easily become desensitized to while reading the books. Seeing the mothers in District 12 preparing their children for the reaping, and possibly their death, was chilling. I think both the book and film are politically relevant, especially in light of global events like the Arab Spring. Moreover, the movie seemed to appeal to a vast audience, not just teens. Sure, there was a bit of romance, but it truly took a backseat to the biggest themes: survival and rebellion against oppression. Lastly, I’d like to conclude with a shout-out to all the haters who laughed and gave me weird looks when I urged them to read The Hunger Games: I win. Happy Hunger Games, everyone!
Photo Sources:
http://www.picktainment.com/blog/2012/03/understanding-the-the-hunger-games-phenomenon/
http://www.filmjunk.com/2012/03/23/the-hunger-games-review/
http://collider.com/hunger-games-poster-puzzle-hunt/132394/