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| Director: Gary Ross (2012) |
Films that are adapted from popular novels
always face certain challenges when they hit cinema screens. Fans must be
catered to, there's nothing worse than the target audience of said adaptation
feeling screwed over. Conversely, appeal to general moviegoers is essential in
order to be a big enough box office success to warrant a sequel. For the most
part, The Hunger Games has the necessary elements to both camps, and is an
involving, entertaining picture for the masses.
Set in a dystopian future of Panem, a
broken America that has survived the ravages of war after an uprising against
the tyrannical Capitol has failed. In order to intimidate the 12 districts that
remain in Panem, the Capitol hosts an event called ‘The Hunger Games’. This
yearly event takes 1 boy and 1 girl from each district and forces them to fight
to the death until only one remains. After her sister gets selected for the
games, our heroine Katniss Everdeen volunteers herself to be entered in order
to save her younger sibling.
Right off the bat its clear that director Gary
Ross is happy to show us the broken squalor that Katniss has to suffer in her
impoverished home in district 12. People live in huts and shacks, scavenge food
and wash in tubs. When Katniss sneaks out of bounds to hunt for food the
electric fence that barricades her in is without power, yet another sign that
they struggle to survive each day. It’s strong stuff, and once we’re whisked
off to the Capitol at the end of the opening 3rd, the juxtaposition
is a vast one. The emerald greens and thick browns are contrasted with clean
whites and pastel shades that resonate from the quirky clothing of the Capitols
residents. In terms of crafting a believable and interesting world, Ross is
wholly successful.
While the concept of
last-man-standing-deathmatch-with-kids isn’t the freshest idea in the world,
The Hunger Games succeeds where others fail for a multitude of reasons.
Firstly, we have some strong build-up before the games actually start; allowing
Katniss to the get the character development required to be a likeable and
fully fleshed out character. We also meet the other tributes and get some
backstory on them, adding some small meaning to events that unfold in the
arena. This can be accredited to both the strong script from Ross, Suzanne
Collins (also the author of the novel) and Billy as well as Jennifer Lawrence’s
excellent performance. Every emotion is cast on her face; every action feels
grounded and real. She’s the driving force for a good portion of the film, due
to her isolation inside the arena. It’s undeniable that with a lesser talent as
the lead, The Hunger Games would simply be a weaker film.
After an interesting build up involving
mentor Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) Presenter Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci)
and Gameswoman Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), Katniss, fellow district 12
competitor Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and the remaining children are thrown into
the arena in a breathless sequence of violence and death. At least, that what I
think happens, as Ross’ choice to violently jerk the camera around is crude and
often incomprehensible. It’s an understandable decision (to keep the
certificate at a fan friendly 12A) yet is ruins action scenes almost outright.
What's worse is this erratic cinematography is used constantly in order to give
a sense of first person perspective for the audience. When the camera is
restless in filming 2 people conversing at a table, it’s clear that the
execution of this style was horrendous. The total lack of technical proficiency
doesn’t end there, and the editing is also unnecessarily choppy, with shots
that don’t mesh together with any impression of cohesion. ILM’s CGI work is also slack, with muddy
textures and animals that merrily skip through the uncanny valley. Considering
the 78 million dollar budget, The Hunger Games has a rough and sloppy feel to
it.
The Games themselves make up the latter
half of the film and are made all the more interesting thanks to the great work
that adds weight to the demise of many of the characters. While half of the 24
tributes lack dialogue, the others get some semblance of development, and this
causes the vicious murders to have a far greater impact. Some tributes form
temporary alliances, teaming up to prey on the weak. Others work alone, staying
alive thanks to honed survival skills or just pure luck. The potential monotony
of the forest environment is alleviated by cuts to the control room, where the
arena is modified to make the Games more exciting, and to Tucci’s commentator,
used to inform the audience of events that are mysteries even to Katniss. Both break
the films 1st person perspective, but don’t feel tacked on and add
to the overall desperation of Katniss’ situation.
Yet despite said imperfections, The Hunger
games is something that is still quite rare in today’s age of cinema; a film
aimed at young adults that doesn’t pander solely to its audience. The result is
an enjoyable, entertaining feature that is accessible to a wide variety of
audiences. It will also do wonders for Lawrence; undoubtedly one of the stars
of tomorrow.
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