GRADE: A -Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Stanlet Tucci, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Wes Bentley, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Hemsworth, Toby Jones
Screenplay by Gary Ross, Suzzane Collins and Billy Ray
Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins
Directed by Gary Ross
Unless you have been living in a cave on Mars for the past two years, you've probably heard of “The Hunger Games” book series, which has a rabid cult following of fans that take it far more seriously than most of us take our religious affiliations, and almost as seriously as some people take Twilight.
Well, fans, Suzanne Collins novel has finally made it to the big screen: let the games begin.
Sometime in the future, the nation of Panem has risen out of the ruins of what was once known as North America. Due to an unsuccessful uprising by the districts of Panem, a raffle (known as the "reaping") is held to choose one boy and one girl, aged 12–18, from each of the twelve “districts” to participate in the Hunger Games, which is basically “the Triwizard Tournament” meets “Thunderdome” meets “American Idol.”Each contestant, or tribute, battles until only one is left. The winner receives honor, gifts, and enough food and supplies to never worry about anything ever again. The Hunger Games are a yearly reminder to the 12 districts of the Capitol's authority, and punishment for their rebellion over 70 years ago, in which the 13th district was supposedly destroyed.
In District 12, sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen (played by Academy Award Nominee Jennifer Lawrence) cares for her mother and her sister Prim, and in her spare time, she illegally hunts for food outside the boundary fences with her friend Gale (Liam Hemsworth.)
When Prim's name is drawn as tribute in her very first year eligible for the Hunger Games, Katniss steps forward and volunteers to take her place. Soon, she finds herself on the way to the Capitol along with her male counterpart, Peeta Mellark (Josh Huthcherson), a boy whom Katniss barely knows, but nevertheless holds a certain significance to her.
Katniss and Peeta train for the games under the guidance of a mentor and former victor of the games (Woody Harrelson), a stylist (Lenny Kravitz) and overly made up, sticky sweet escort (Elizabeth Banks, who seems to be channeling Sarah Palin.). Together they prepare for battle, knowing that, at best, only one of them can come out alive.
Director Gary Ross (Seabiscuit, Pleasantville) directs with a deft and serious hand, and does the material proud, paying great attention to detail and treating the source material with great respect while at the same time not being afraid to add his own touch to it and take the liberty to explore aspects of the story that were less focused in the book, in particular the story of Seneca Crane (played by Wes Bentley), the “Gamemaker” of the Hunger Games, and the President of the Capitol, played by Donald Sutherland. While these characters are in the book, they are more vague presences than actual characters, and while the first person, “as it happens” narrative style that Collins' chose for the novel does not allow for cut- aways to any point of view but that of Katniss herself, Ross chooses not to stick with that restriction and introduces us to different aspects of this interesting world. Ross was faced with a difficult task – adapting a decidedly R rated book who's fan base relies heavily on the teenage crowd into a PG-13 movie that teens and pre-teens can see (nothing is offensive or potentially harmful in written form, because it doesn't have a letter assigned to it), without losing the brutal intensity of the source material. Fortunately, the highly talented director is up to the challenge.
In terms of adaption, this is one of the most faithful I've seen in some time, both in spirit and and in content – it even looks just like I pictured it when reading (except for Woody Harrleson replacing Jeff Bridges.). The klunkiest bit of adaptation, for me, was what I felt was an inadequate explanation of a bird called a “Mockingjay,” (the title of the third book) – if you haven't read the book, you don't know exactly what it is. However, the biggest genuine change from the book was one that I welcomed, as I found it to be a bit silly on paper and would have played as genuinely laughable on film.
The performances are very strong, in particular Lawrence as Katniss . “Winter's Bone” was no fluke. This young actress can really carry a movie. But it doesn't hurt that she is surrounded by pros like Harrelson, Sutherland and Stanley Tucci, who is delightful as Caesar Flickerman, sort of a cross between Bob Costas, Dick Clark, Ryan Seacrest and the announcer at the Roman Colluseum.
If there is a major failure in the film, it is in losing some of complexity of the Katnis-Peeta relationship (what are they doing for the camera versus what they are really feeling.). No major changes are made – in fact, that may be the problem. In adapting so literally from the book it was hard to get the smorgasbord of emotions these two are feeling across, and perhaps greater liberty was needed. I would have liked to have seen more conflicted emotion, particularly when the two are last seen together. But I reserve the right to change my mind about this upon repeat viewing.
On the whole, this is a very satisfying and engaging film, and anytime a movie can keep me on the edge of my seat with suspense despite the fact that I know exactly what is going to happen next, that's a sure sign of strong direction (and the terrific and beautifully subtle musical score by James Newton Howard doesn't hurt, either – it's nice to see this talented composer move away from rehashing old Bernard Herrman scores for Shyamalan and get back to showing his versatility.).
The Hunger Games is rated PG-13 for quite a bit of violence, suspense, and mild profanity.
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