For those of you who have taken up residence under a rock of late, or have somehow managed to avoid all the media buzz, the film adaption of author Suzanne Collins' best-selling novel, "The Hunger Games" (2008) arrived in theaters this past weekend breaking numerous box-office records in the process.
The story takes place in the fictional country of Panem, which rose from the ashes of a geologic disaster and the subsequent war that destroyed what we now know of as North America. Panem is divided into twelve Districts, all of which are ruled over by the brutally oppressive Capitol. To keep the Districts in line and punish them for their past rebellion, the Capitol requires that every year the Districts participate in the titular "Hunger Games." This involves each District offering one boy and one girl as tributes to the Capitol who are then put into a modern gladiatorial arena and forced to fight to the death until only one victor remains.
The story's heroine, KatnissEverdeen, (Jennifer Lawrence,) hails from the impoverished, food-deprived, coal mining District 12. When her younger sister Prim is chosen to participate in the Games, Katniss volunteers to take her place, despite the likelihood that she will fail. Together with her fellow tribute PeetaMellark, (Josh Hutcherson) Katniss must survive the perils of the arena and defy the Capitol in order to make it home to those she loves.
Arguably one of the film's greatest challenges, aside from living up to the astronomical expectations of the book's fans, was portraying the brutality and violence of the arena without making it gratuitous or overwhelming. To accomplish this, particularly violent scenes were shot with hand-held cameras, giving them a shaky, tumbling, chaotic feel that conveys a sense of fear and urgency and directly engages the violence without jeopardizing the film's PG-13 rating. While this might be a turn off for older audience members, the fact remains that the books were written for young adults and the film had to take that into consideration, which they seem to do quite successfully.
Additionally, while the book is narrated by Katniss, and therefore only tells the story of the 74th annual Hunger Games from her viewpoint, the movie cuts to actions in several different places around Panem. This can be rewarding at times for it engages more of the characters and provides a wider scope than what is sometimes offered in the books. Yet, for hardcore fans of the novel, this might be seen as an unnecessary departure from the source material.
The film's greatest strength, however, is in its strong casting choices, particularly with regards to the supporting characters. Woody Harrelson plays the alcoholic District 12 mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, a past winner of the Hunger Games and a solid source of comic relief. Likewise, Elizabeth Banks who stars as the District 12 escort Effie Trinket, also offers a sizeable amount of humor and both she and Harrelson melt seamlessly into their respective roles. Yet, Stanley Tucci's performance as the bubbly, animated Hunger Games commentator Caesar Flickerman is pitch perfect and one of the film's surprising highlights.
As for the three main characters, Katniss, Peeta and Gale (Liam Hemsworth), all of them are played by relatively new, up-and-coming actors who, while by no means unsatisfactory, didn't always keep up with the caliber of the supporting actors. Despite her Oscar nomination for the 2010 film "Winter's Bone," Lawrence's performance was somewhat underwhelming. Katniss' introverted character could occasionally come off as disengaged and was not always as relatable as one would hope.
Overall, the film did a much better job than other adaptations of young adult novels in capturing the essence and energy of the original story. Unlike many such attempts, director Gary Ross managed to stay true to the novel's characters and general plot with his film adaptation. The story was successfully streamlined without leaving out glaring details or major moments of emotional significance. While it's probably more entertaining and meaningful to fans of the original book, "The Hunger Games" is certainly worth a trip to the theatre for anyone looking for an engaging time.
