I am among the many that have been drawn in by the newest pop culture book to movie phenomenon. I read the books two years ago, devouring each in turn, practically without drawing breath in between. News that they would be converted into films brought a trepidatious excitement, especially as I learned their casting decisions.
The movie is well put together, with the actors doing their darndest to bring to life all these much loved and much loathed characters that populate this dystopian world. The costumes are beautiful- Effie is a fabulous mix between creepy and ridiculous, tittering about on towering heels while wearing face powder that would put Marie Antoinette to shame. The residents of the Capitol are appropriately bedecked in jewel-toned frippery that connotes excess. Unfortunately, while these show-stopping numbers sparkle magically, their would-be counterbalance, the drab shells of the beleaguered and downtrodden masses, simply aren’t dull enough to punctuate the divide.
As is often the case with book to movie transformations, fans bemoan the inevitable paring down of details and Hollywoodization of their beloved tomes. Sadly, this rings true in the Hunger Games: it might in fact be in its attempts to stay true to the book in spite of its time constraints that the movie falls short. Details that avid book fans will recognize immediately, and which indicate larger lowest priced paxil in the usa parts of the story are inserted in a matter similar to citations – sure, they are there if you know what to look for, but if you don’t, they will fly past you, without your knowledge that you are missing something important. First time viewers, for instance, might not understand the reasons that Gale and Katniss have their names in the lottery more times than Prim, or that the system of bartering this risk in exchange for much needed food and other resources is a large part of the way the capitol keeps its hold. After all, the movie dutifully mentions these things, but certainly does not spell it out nearly as clearly as the book. In fact, while the people of District 12 seem poor and somewhat unhappy, it is rather hard to realize that they are often in a half-starved stupor. The scene in which Gale and Katniss share a small piece of bread seems almost contrived- two teens playing make-believe that something like this is rare. One of my uninitiated friends actually asked me why the title applies, a fact that in my mind confirms that the desperation and starvation do not come across strong enough in the film.
One of the things that endeared me so much to the book was Katniss’ cynical, ambivalent nature. The movie obviously cannot get into her head the same way without utilizing one of those annoying voice-over monologues, but it is unfortunate that in the adaptation, her hard shell and underlying ruthlessness are undermined in favor of making her more likeable. Katniss, at heart, is incredibly ambitious, even if the scope of her ambition only extends to the prolonged safety of her sister. It is a redeeming feature of an otherwise somewhat formulaic story that the main character is somewhat of an antihero. She holds no real loyalty to anyone but Prim and to some extent Gale. Certainly, she does not wish death upon any of her comrades, least of all Peeta, but neither does she have much actual fondness for them. She mostly disregards Peeta until she finds a strategical use for his lovesick puppy routine. Don’t get me wrong, Jennifer Lawrence did a fabulous job at making Katniss a tough girl with a heart, it’s just that she’s a completely different character from that written in in the books. I laughed when the preview for the last Twilight movie came before the Hunger Games showing, thinking that Bella was the exact opposite to our self-sufficient, sassy Katniss, and was a bit disappointed to see this beloved character become part and parcel of many action heroine tropes.
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For More Information Visit:
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http://www.movieweb.com/movie/the-hunger-games
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170
http://www.thehungergamesmovie.com
