Review: Hunger Games

Opening night of The Hunger Games at the NPH was alive with the excited chatter of those who had clearly read Suzanne Collins’ books, or persons coaxed into attendance by those who had. As the foyer filled, the murmuring was punctuated with audible American yelps of “So excited!” or “I can’t wait!” (sorry U.S. friends, but your voices do tend to travel). All in all, there was a real feeling that this had become more than a casual night at the local picture house. This was an event movie – Harry Potter Lite, perhaps?

As the attendees were herded like cattle (or potential “tributes”) into the auditorium, the screen was filled with popular music videos from the likes of Lady Gaga and LMFAO – “more evidence that digital projection should be abolished immediately” I thought, in a suitably curmudgeonly manner.

The film itself was yoked with the familiar and thankless task of having to establish a new world, characters and narrative, with a view to continuation of these in further instalments. The dystopian nation of Panem is established as a post-apocalyptic region, controlled by a wealthy Capitol who, years before, quelled a rebellion by the surrounding districts (during which District 13 was destroyed). Since then, to punish and commemorate this failed uprising, they have demanded that a boy and a girl (the aforementioned “tributes”, aged between 12 and 18 years-old) be randomly selected from each of the remaining twelve districts to compete in the annual Hunger Games – a no-holds-barred fight to the death.

If there are familiarity bells ringing in your head, then you may well have read/watched Battle Royale or The Running Man. Collins’ books successfully brought the concept to the ‘Young Adult’ book market, and it seems to have been a mere matter of time before the Hollywood suits came calling.

Our protagonist, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), is the picture of nobility and selfless courage. Handy with a bow, she helps her widowed mother and young sister Primrose (Willow Shields) by hunting in the wooded land of her native District 12. Seemingly smitten with the passionate, handsome local lad, Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth), Katniss’ life holds a glimmer of hope amidst her harsh surroundings as the inevitable trauma of the annual tribute lottery looms.

When young Primrose is selected at this lottery, Katniss steps forward to volunteer in her place. Joined by the suitably rattled, yet strong and silent male tribute Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), she is whisked off to the rich Capitol, where decadence reigns and the people dress in a manner that essentially merges The Fifth Element and Blackadder The Third.

Under the questionable tutelage of washed-up former Hunger Games champion Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson) and chaperoned by etiquette fanatic Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks, almost unrecognisable under buckets of make-up), Katniss and Peeta are prepared for the battle and advised to garner popularity during the media circus that precedes the Games (the highlight of which being an entertaining turn by Stanley Tucci as talk-show host, Caesar Flickerman).

When the action begins, it arguably pulls its punches a little in that director Gary Ross adopts a ‘shaky-cam’ style to leave much of the opening melee to the vivid palettes of our own imagination. It is interesting to note that the BBFC required 7 seconds of ‘bloody’ scenes to be cut in order to reduce the film’s certificate from 15 to 12A. This frenetic camerawork is returned to at various times, but fans of Paul Greengrass’ Bourne films will be more than accustomed to it.

Observed by ‘Head Gamemaker’ Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley, sporting ridiculous facial hair) and the autocratic President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland), the Games are controlled by these powers that be as they seek to determine their outcome. As Katniss tries to remain alive during the various scrapes and skirmishes that ensue, Lawrence thrives in bringing to the fore a rare breed of character – female and strong, without having a ‘masculinity’ forced upon her in the process. While the narrative does adopt a romantic arc, she doesn’t ever seem wholly defined by the men in her life, something that cannot be said for those characters in the other major young adult franchise of the moment – the Twilight saga.

To withdraw once more from this exploration of gender (before this writer gets too far out of his depth), the film is by no means perfect. The dialogue is slack in parts, and the NPH audience was found giggling at moments that aimed for tenderness. The relevance of Liam Hemsworth’s character is perhaps to be explored further in Part Two but he is given little time for development in this chapter, and the inclusion of Lenny Kravitz in a cast is always a fairly questionable choice. It is, however, a film trilogy that, if the faithful adaptation and strong cast of the first instalment is anything to go by, could further flourish with each addition.

142 mins
Director: Gary Ross
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson, Liam Hemsworth, Lenny Kravitz, Donald Sutherland.