The Hunger Games Review

An adolescent heroine, a fantasy novel and a love triangle. The odds are not in our favour. But not to fret ! Put shiny vampires and mopey damsels from your mind – Twilight this ain’t.

The Hunger Games.

Directed by Gary Ross

In Panem, the aftermath of North America, where the rich and poor are divided into the Capitol and districts respectively, a male and a female are selected from each such district to participate in an annual televised event called ‘The Hunger Games’. Kids between the ages of twelve and eighteen are confined in an area of simulated wilderness. Only one may leave alive. A skilled archer named Katniss Everdeen volunteers to spare her sister, whose name is drawn first, and is thus invited to audition for the pantheon of great action heroines.

The premise implies the film with all its nail-biting do or die moments, but let’s first regard how plausible this actually is. Anyone who’s been watching Spartacus : Vengeance knows that shows of blood and death have historically been seen as acceptable popular entertainment, and if you flip from Starz to one of the networks you’ll probably see the next round of histrionic mal-educated dollies televising their divorce and hurling buckets of fried chicken at immediate relations. This farmer wants a wife. Virgins after dark, to the lions.

So the premise resonates folks, but does it deliver?

The film takes its time before the games commence, building the world and planting seeds for the inevitable sequels. The stakes are high early on, so once we’re in, we are in. All the competitors are carefully drawn, reacting in different and relatable ways to their predicament. Some hide, others hunt and form allegiances. Between the more vicious of her opponents and the harshness of the environment, Katniss is put through one gruelling challenge after another. By the end she’s pulled a bury of bunnies out the one hat, and each time you never saw it coming. You will catch yourself grinning.

Jennifer Lawrence owns the role of Katniss, haggling the fear and courage so that the heroism feels innate and earned in equal measure. This is an angular plot that moves ever forward without much time for contemplation, but in between the running and fighting she reminds us why to care. Every opportunity is seized to show us that this is not Transformers, Katniss is not Bella, and these are people trying to make the best of a bad situation. The rest of the cast is likewise keen, although one expects sequels will offer further opportunity to exhibit the depth of their characters.

Gary Ross’ camera works to follow the action, inviting us to search the screen ourselves for details. Much of the famed violence from the novels is sufficiently implied without extensive gore. His direction shines most brightly however in the depiction of the two worlds. The districts are relatable, down to earth, with limited resources and open on nature, whereas Panem is populated with unfeeling gluttonous yuppies who wear so much make-up, it’s like that time your cake shop got up and went for a walk. One feels rather like a third world labourer touring Chadstone Shopping Centre from the vantage point of a shopping trolley. Is this us? Are we superficial and materialistic, either delighting in or oblivious to the inequalities which as presented in the film, are probably analogous to that of the real world?

There is an adjunct political story, which while a mite simplistic (think V for Vendetta movie), will certainly turn the neurons some and leave them itchy after those closing credits. The district residents, moved by Katniss’ televised feats of survival, take to mounting some embryonic challenges against the regime. This is rewarding because, well, who doesn’t love a riot? Occupy Panem.

I’ve mentioned sequels twice now because regretably, without sequels, this film is rickety. Fault can mainly be found in the closing montage which, rather than exclaim the story of this film, makes laboured promises of the next one. By leaving us with moments saying, effectively ‘yes, there is victory, but peril in its wake’, the worth of the film becomes inextricably bound to the sequels, and without spoiling too much, negates the climax some. Let’s hope the inexorable sequelification of this franchise doesn’t go the way of the Matrix sequels because this first film will not survive.

Is it to be deified among the stars? Can Katniss hold her own with Ripley, Sarah Connor, Buffy and the like? Answering this requires repeat viewings, and I would absolutely endorse at least the one.

Occupy your cinema.