By Ben Palmer
Sleep deprivation, mass congregation, and starvation. These are the woes of The Hunger Games. These were also the joys of devoted fans who saw the film at midnight on Mar. 22.
Based on the first of three successful young adult novels by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games follows teenager Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) as she fights for her life in a government-sanctioned death match.
A rough premise for a young adult fiction book? You bet. The novel presents a grim dystopian future in which North America, now united as Panem, is a gritty slave state split into 12 districts and one glimmering Oz-esque Capitol. Each year, two children or “tributes” are randomly chosen from each district to fight to the death. Katniss takes her sister’s place when the latter is chosen by frilly Capitol escort Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks). The male tribute is Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson).
From here, a dark and violent adventure begins. The two are half-heartedly advised by alcoholic former champion Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson) who adds some comic relief to the tense sequences before the Games begin. Once in the arena, however, it is nothing but tension with very little let up until the last few minutes.
The film, at a whopping two and a half hours, was able to perfectly capture the novel. The drudgery of District 12, the rainbow of glimmering wrongness that is the Capitol, and the numbing relentlessness of the Games are aptly represented.
It should be noted at this point that though the novels are for young adults, this is not a film for children. Complete with neck-breakage, spear removal from a little girl’s abdomen, and death by hallucinogenic bees, the film is not a walk in the forest.
Lawrence embodies the physicality of the chilly Katniss as she goes about the arena, though at times appearing almost too gentle and pretty. Hutcherson also manages to keep his handsome looks despite disguising himself as a rock, being stung to near death by super-bees, and being bitten by mutant dogs.
These are the only problems I had with the film. The cinematography was brilliant, a safe combination of beautifully eerie panning shots of the forest arena and hand-cam style shots of bloody combat. The fate of an R-rating was narrowly avoided by shakily filming the most violent scenes, allowing for a little squish pop and red, but no horribly graphic imagery.
In fact, the most horrifying thing about the film is the premise. Twenty-four children go in, and one comes out alive. Innocence is sacrificed for the sake of entertaining the over the top Capitol and to prove loyalty to the icy President Snow (Donald Sutherland).
While Oscar season is almost a year away, I would not be surprised if The Hunger Games took home a few awards for costumes and makeup. The sequences in the Capitol are stunningly surreal, displaying the gender-bending fashions and makeups of the uber-rich. Essentially, the Capitol is like a gay Wizard of Oz themed nightclub, which serves as a stark contrast to the Orwellian look of Katniss and her destitute fellows in District 12.
With a non-stop supply of blood pumping action, there is little I can say about the film that won’t reveal too much. I only hope that the next films, based on sequels Catching Fire and Mockingjay, will be as beautiful an adaptation as The Hunger Games.
