Geek Syndicate
FILM REVIEW - The Hunger Games
The Review:
Firstly, before I even attempt the review let me just say this to all the fans of the books, who were worried about The Hunger Games story, the respective castings of Katniss, Peeta, Gale and the portayal of their world, and the craziness of the Panem: you have nothing to fear. The makers and produ cers have given us a movie that is equal to the books and in some instances it surpasses the story Suzanne Collins has written. resentatives who have trained for this their whole lives. is nothing compared to what we are about to see when she gets taken to the Capitol with Peeta.
Writers: Suzanne Collins, Garry Ross & Billy Ray Directors: Garry Ross Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson & Liam Hemsworth
The Blurb:
Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss’ young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining district’s female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker who seems to have all the fighting skills of a lump of bread dough, will be pitted against bigger, stronger rep58
The Reaping scene is done superbly well. The camera takes us in close to the stony faces of those who live in District 12. There is a sense of palpable terror but also resignation as the proceedings unfold. When Prim’s name gets called, we see the unspoken relief on the faces of others standing around her, we see the shock in her eyes, we see the disbelief in Katniss’s eyes. The scene is wonderfully downplayed, making it all the more striking. And then, once Peeta’s name is called after Katniss volunteers to take Prim’s place and all of District 12 gives them the three finger salute in stoic silence, it literally encapsulates everything that makes Katniss such a great heroine: she will endure. The movie works because the visuals are so strong. Beautifully shot, it juxtaposes the characters and settings against the awful shocking reality of the horror that these teens are set against one another, to kill each other, by any means possible, to be the last one standing in order to win. I can make comments here
We meet Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) as she leaves her mum and sister Prim behind to go and hunt the forests beyond the District’s borders. As she moves through the town, we get visuals that are strongly Depression Era America: washed out colours and haggard looking people wearing raggedly clothes, going about the drudgery of daily lives in silence, eyes turned downwards. We see a group of coal workers heading to a mine, their faces dull, dirty and tired. It is only when we are with Katniss in the lush green of the forest, that we get our first hint of colour but even then, it