Appropriate title, no?
Well, if it’s not for everyone else, it definitely is for me. I’ve read the whole series twice. I’ve been tempted to read it a third time. And I couldn’t handle not seeing the movie for a whole week after its release!
I did finally see it Saturday night with my friends.
And I walked out not entirely sure how I felt about the whole thing. You see, it is a movie based off of a book, so it was never going to be quite complete (I mean, not even the amazing LotR movies could quite capture the books). At the same time, it was amazing to watch the story I had only seen on paper and in my mind. So, I’m not exactly surprised that I don’t know what to think.
The movie was unable to capture the nature of the relationships the way the book did. I was really struck by this when Rue died in the movie. I found myself relying on how I felt when she was killed in the book to truly feel something while watching the movie. The screenplay did not allow enough time for the audience to connect to Katniss and Rue. After the movie, I was talking to a friend who hadn’t read The Hunger Games and, when I brought up Rue and told her that Katniss was attached to the little girl because of Prim, she said, “I think that I may have gotten that from the movie, maybe, but, yeah, I guess that makes sense.” Plus, normally, the death of a character leaves me beside myself and in tears. Reading the book, I was sobbing. Watching the movie, I shed a tear because I got all worked-up about the fact that she was going to die. Then, I was back together again by the time Katniss was placing flowers around her.
As for Katniss and Peeta, there was something…off about it. I think they were more connected in the book. What with Peeta telling her the story about hearing her sing. Or the fact that she feels that she owes Peeta for saving her and her family’s lives years ago. Or when she tells him the story about the goat. Or when she nursed him back to life when he was lying on the cave floor dying from a terrible infection. The movie missed all of that. Everything that absolutely connected them.
However, Jennifer Lawrence and the director did an amazing job showing how conflicted her emotions are. I was particularly impressed by some of the moments when they used little dialogue and more action and camera. For example, at the very end of the movie, when Katniss and Peeta return to District 12. At this point, they’ve been holding hands a lot. It’s natural. Katniss feels the need to hold his hand and we don’t need her inner dialogue to see this anymore, like we had in the book. They’re holding hands and everything’s okay. Then, she sees Prim on Gale’s shoulders. There is where we see the dialogue they cut out earlier. You know the part. The heartbreaking scene when they’re about to get off the train and Katniss explains to Peeta that her affection was all a show and that it all meant nothing to her. Instead of telling, they showed it on the characters’ faces and in the camera direction.
Continuing on the relationship vein, I’m upset they chose not to include the Madge storyline. I liked the story that was created around her. Her friendship with Katniss and giving her the mockingjay pin. My favorite part about Madge was that she showed how Katniss grew as a person through the story. She also humanized Katniss just a tiny bit more and made her likable. In general, Katniss doesn’t think much of herself and doesn’t believe anyone wants to be her friend simply because she’s from the Seam and her dad died and she was forced to grow up and become the food supplier for her family and half the town. But it’s her realization that Madge was truly her friend that starts to make her think that, maybe, she’s not a pawn in everyone’s life story and people actually like her and aren’t using her to get what they want. Madge was important in Katniss’s growth as a person.
Away from relationships: I despised the fact that they bastardized the salute. In the book, the three finger salute was a District 11 thing that Rue shared with Katniss, who, in turn, used it to show respect and to honor Rue and Thresh when she visited District 11. It also showed how two entirely separate districts were brought together by one little thing. Instead, they used it as some universal thing that, to the viewer who’s never read the book, means nothing except maybe ‘goodbye,’ or whatever. That upsets me a great deal.
In other news, I’m a little sad the movie didn’t give enough time to explain the significance of the dog muttations at the end. They were important in the development of our understanding of how the Capitol works. Though, the fact that they put the things in there in the first place definitely adds to that. As do the President Snow/Seneca Crane exchanged.
The Cornucopia was the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen before and the complete opposite of what I expected. I mean, what? I actually laughed.
Cato, Clove, Thresh, and Foxface, in my opinion, were great for secondary and tertiary characters. Seriously. I was pretty impressed.
Stanley Tucci. Stanley Tucci wins every award. I love him. He was hysterical and absolutely perfect as Cesar. I enjoyed seeing what happened outside of the Games because Tucci’s/Cesar’s commentating was great! I like that they used him to explain things like tracker jackers and such. (One of my favorite parts is when he shows up in Katniss’s hallucination. That was awesome!) Plus, Stanley looks great in blue hair.
Another favorite was Lenny Kravitz as Cinna. Perfect casting, in my opinion. I don’t think I need to say more. If you’ve seen the movie, you understand how astoundingly perfect he was. I’m 100% sure that I will be a blubbering mess in the third (or fourth) movie when he gets beaten and dragged away.
Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket was inspired. I love how they dressed her, wrote her, everything. Then, when Elizabeth stepped in and portrayed her…wow. She’s almost exactly what I expected Effie to be when I read the book. Manners. Also, that is maHOGany!
Haymitch. He was almost the Haymitch I wanted him to be. Woody Harrelson was great and I’m certain he will play the more drunk, more damaged Haymitch we see later in the series brilliantly.
I don’t have much to say about Jennifer (Katniss) and Josh (Peeta) themselves, right now. I think that they did a good job with what they were given. Undoubtedly, now that the first movie and all of the set up is out of the way, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th movies will be given better screenplays and will allow the two of them to delve deeper into their characters and deliver stunning performances.
(Additionally, I loved the Gamemakers’ room. AWESOME.)
I realize there’s a lot more to talk about, but I don’t have the time or the space to get into every detail or every character. I intend to watch the movie again, though not in the theater, unless someone wants to buy me a ticket! (See, the thing is, I’m broke!)
I’ll see it again when it’s released on iTunes. Expect me to write about the movie again at that point!
Overall, I enjoyed the movie, but I think I walked in expecting more than I got.
Becca Has Words 