Film Review: The Hunger Games

It was a sunny afternoon yesterday and I went to see The Hunger Games. I'd read a few reviews and heard some positive things about the film. I managed to avoid hearing too many actual details before seeing it, knowing only the basics of the plot, and not having read the books.

For anyone out there who hasn't heard about the film (and I'd be surprised. It seems to have done quite well for itself...) takes place in some unspecified future date and revolves around the fictional North American country Panem, which features and central seemingly advanced city called The Capitol, and surrounded by 12 poorer districts. After a failed uprising by the districts 74 years ago, the capitol punishes the districts by once a year selecting one boy and one girl from each district, aged between 12-18, to participate in The Hunger Games, where each "tribute" (as they are called) is forced to fight to the death, with the victor bringing prestige and benefits to their district, and a life of relative ease for themselves. The main thrust of the story revolves around the character of Katniss Everdeen, a young girl from District 12, as her younger sister is selected for the games at the beginning of the film, and Katniss offers to take her place.

That's the basics of the film and I'll go into more details and specific moments ahead, but for those avoiding any potential spoilers for the film, I'll simply say here that I really enjoyed the film. It's very well told, with a very palpable sense of tension throughout. Even though I knew in the back of my head that the main character wouldn't die (it's based on a trilogy of books all about her, obviously), this never deterred me from being worried about what might happen next. I felt the ending of the film was a bit weak however, especially once the games had concluded. It seemed like they were hedging their bets as to whether to set up the film as the first part of a trilogy or as a standalone film (I can understand them being worried about it following other book-to-film underperformers such as "The Golden Compass", a fantastic book, but not so great on the big screen). With this indecision it sort of falls in between and as such seems unclear about where things end up. (Although obviously with the fact it made $150m on its opening weekend, it'd be hard to imagine they won't do the sequel at this point) There was some overused shaky-cam in places, and the clothing the people in the district wore seemed very late 1800's in nature, but these weaker points are far outweighed by the good ones I think.

There were a few standout moments in the film that stuck with me afterwards. The relationship between Katniss and her sister Prim, at the beginning of the film, was very well depicted. The moment after Prim is selected and as she walks up she tucks in her dress, obviously thinking of what her older sister had told her before, followed by Katniss’ unhesitating decision to take her sister’s place. It was a very strong scene. The one shining moment in the bleakness depicted in their District.

The other standout moment for me came later in the film. I’ll try to avoid spoilers and won’t name the character here, but the relationship between Katniss and one of the characters who helps her in the games themselves was fantastic. When this character dies (that’s not much of a spoiler, cos a lot of people die in this film) it really hits both Katniss and the audience hard. This whole scene was wonderfully put together, and when Katniss afterwards salutes as a sign of respect to her fallen friend, the moment that is then depicted in that character’s own district seems entirely appropriate.

It’s for these kinds of moments that I enjoy films. Those bits of shining humanity that can appear in even the bleakest of situations. We don’t watch these kinds of hard, tense films to see people struggle. We watch to see them triumph. Not necessarily over others, but over themselves, to grow, to learn, to realize their best.

Overall, it was a very entertaining film, that elicited strong emotional responses, (both good and bad, it’s not exactly a wonderful future that awaits us all apparently) with a strong cast and a clear and consistent visual style. I think it probably benefited greatly from the fact that the original author of the books, Suzanne Collins, actually adapted the screenplay herself, which seems like a logical decision and yet a rarity in Hollywood. I would easily recommend that anyone with a hint of interest go check it out for themselves.

Now it’s time for me to give the original books a whirl and see if they are worth all this fuss too. Check back soon to find out how that goes! (That’s if I can manage to get them read. I’ve spent 2 months trying to read Cloud Atlas now and getting distracted all the time! :D )

4 out of 5 stars