Hunger Games Review

The Hunger Games Left Me Hungry For More

Review by: Heather Hardison, Ph.D.

The Movie Psychoanalyst

I’ve been awaiting this movie release for a year ever since they started filming last spring. I’ve read the first book 3 times this year alone. So I was expecting to be wowed and bowled over by this film. Overall, it was an outstanding and intense movie. It definitely deserves the success it achieved on opening weekend, but I have to admit that I was underwhelmed by a few aspects of this film being that I am such a fan of the books. 

The major flaw with this film is the pacing. At first glance, the running time of 2 hours and 22 minutes seems lengthy, but the entire film feels rushed. The first 30 minutes were dizzying from the break neck pace that they showed the scenes from District 12, the reaping, the goodbyes plus the backstory of Katniss, Prim, and Gale. Towards the last half of the film there were several scenes that were glossed over or left out altogether that were vital to the storyline, and the absence of those scenes was felt greatly, namely the cave scenes and intimate discussions between Katniss and Peeta. I feel the filmmakers may regret leaving certain parts out when it is time to film the second and third installment as those scenes were pivotal to Katniss’ character development and to the connection between Katniss and Peeta. 

There seems to be pressure to condense a movie to 2-2.5 hours and that restriction is limiting some of our top blockbusters like Harry Potter and Twilight, etc. Fans of the books need to have the story unfold in a similar pace of the books and not feel as if some of the most pivotal scenes are afterthoughts. More time needed to be devoted to the progression of the relationship between Katniss and Peeta as that is a major theme in upcoming installments. The scenes in the cave could have easily been lengthened to show Katniss’ feelings for Peeta beginning to develop. 

Internally, in the book we see her conflicted over those feelings and we also see her intentionally playing up their romance to the camera in order to gain sponsor gifts and win over the audience. Peeta is unaware that Katniss is using their romantic interactions to garner favor from Haymitch. When this is revealed to Peeta in the last few pages of the book it is something that causes him to pull back from Katniss and drives a wedge between them. That distance and tension between them is important to the plot of the 2nd book, Catching Fire. Much of this was glossed over in this film. More time devoted to the cave scenes would have also allowed for the chemistry between the two to heighten onscreen as their chemistry in the film wasn’t as electric as it was portrayed in the book, which I think is due to the removal of their most intimate interactions.

Another flaw was the inability of the film to convey much of the internal turmoil that Katniss struggles with in the books. Throughout the story Katniss struggles with her feelings for both Peeta and Gale and is never sure if her feelings are romantic for either. She struggles with the fact that she owes so much to Peeta after he saved her during a very dark time in her past when she and her family would have starved if it were not for the generosity of the “boy with the bread.” He continues to come to her rescue time and time again, and she is unsure how to repay him and at times struggles with whether she can trust him as he is also very charming and knowledgeable about how to subtly manipulate those around him. And with Gale she knows that he has feelings for her, but she isn’t sure how she feels for him as she never really envisions herself in a romantic relationship with anyone given their life circumstances. She notes “Good hunting partners are hard to find,” which shows us that she sees him more as a friend and hunting partner than anything else and probably doesn’t want to jeopardize that close relationship if romantic feelings were to get involved. 

One major criticism that has come up in most reviews of this film is the fact that audience members who have not read the book are baffled at the lack of outrage from the main characters and the district members towards the premise of the Hunger Games. This is captured well in the books through conversations between Katniss and Gale and Katniss and Peeta along with their mentor, Haymitch. Their outrage against the brutal nature of this type of “entertainment” is present subtly in the film but is not as apparent as it was in the book, mainly because many of those conversations and most of Katniss’ internal dialogue was cut from the film, which leaves many audience members questioning how a society could stand for such atrocity. 

Given that the movie could not explicitly address several key aspects of the characters' motivations and garner insight into the games itself, I have turned back to the book to flesh out the meaning of certain decisions and behaviors that Katniss displays in the film and also to pinpoint specific details about the games themselves. In the book Collins makes it is very clear that the games have been around for 74 years, and the Hunger Games have become a routine part of life. Most citizens of Panem do not condone the games and do not find this violence entertaining in the least. However, the Capitol requires that every household tune in to every minute of the games and they are required to treat it as a celebration no less. There are very dire consequences for those that protest or abstain. The citizens have been programmed to follow a set of rules that they do not respect or believe in; however, they know that in order to stay alive and to protect their families that they must fall in line with the Capitol’s demands out of fear of retaliation.

Katniss is the heroine that comes along in a very unexpected way and provides the citizens of Panem hope that they will finally be able to break free from the Capitol’s hold on them, and she proves that there is a way that the system can be beaten. Katniss does not fear what the Capitol will do to her. However, she does fear for her younger sister, Prim. In fact, she volunteers as the District 12 tribute in place of her sister whom she states is the only person in the world that she is certain she loves. She is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for her sister. When thinking about the violence and absurdity of the games Katniss states, “We have to joke about it because the alternative is to be scared out of your wits.” She also describes the reaction of the citizens as they respond to the results of the reaping in her district, “After the reaping, everyone is supposed to celebrate. And a lot of people do, out of relief that their children have been spared for another year. But at least two families will pull their shutters, lock their doors and try to figure out how they will survive the painful weeks to come.” This is the way of life for the citizens of Panem, but there are a few ways that they quietly oppose the games. During the reaping when Katniss volunteers in Prim’s place, the fellow citizens of District 12 do not clap when tributes are chosen. Instead they hold up 3 fingers in silence to show respect and love and to say thank you and goodbye. Rue’s district does the same when Katniss honors Rue during Rue’s death scene. It is the beginning of the uprising in that district.

When Katniss explains the games in the first few chapters she emphasizes how unfair the reaping system is “with the poor getting the worst of it. You become eligible for the reaping the day you turn 12. That year your name is entered once. At 13, twice and so on until you reach 18 when your name goes in the pool 7 times. For the poor and starving you can add your name more times in exchange for tesserae which is year’s supply of grain and oil. By age 16 Katniss has her name entered 20 times and Gale who is 18 entered 42 times.” This type of inequality and injustice breeds hatred between the poor and starving workers of the Seam and those who never go hungry. This action by the Capitol ensures they will never trust each other and minimizes the chances of an uprising. The creation of the Hunger Games is punishment for the previous uprising against the capitol and as a result now each of the 12 districts must provide 1 girl and 1 boy to participate in this grueling process that is displayed on televisions around the nation. The 24 tributes will be imprisoned in a vast outdoor area and over a period of several weeks the competitors must fight to the death leaving 1 tribute as the victor who gets to live the rest of their life in riches. Forcing them to kill one another while the rest watch is the Capitol’s way of reminding them how the Capitol has total control. “Look how we take your children and sacrifice them and there’s nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District 13.”

Katniss is a very complex character and much of her emotion is kept under the surface so that no one can see her vulnerability. Without reading the book her character is hard to grasp. Much of her narration in the series gives us insight into her actions and her choices. She comes off as guarded, stoic and unloving on the outside, but I would argue that she has much more depth once you peel back the layers. She loves her sister so much so that she would sacrifice herself to take her sister’s place in the games. She is willing to die at the conclusion of the games and let Peeta win because she can’t fathom taking his life or allowing him to take his own when the gamemakers announce that there can only be one winner. She forms a bond with a fellow tribute, Rue, who reminds her of her younger sister and then she takes her under her wing in the games and looks after her until her unfortunate death. In the 2^nd and 3^rd books of the series Katniss is willing to go to great lengths to save others, to free the members of all 12 districts and she is willing to be the symbol of hope and freedom for all of Panem when she becomes the Mockingjay.

Some readers stated that they found Katniss too cold and uncaring to relate to as a person; however, as a psychologist I feel that she is guarded and distant for a very specific reason that is very natural. Katniss has grown up in a world that offers no solace and no peace. After her father’s death, Katniss’ mother became so grief stricken that she was unable to work or function, which left Katniss as the primary caregiver for Prim. Katniss had to shoulder the responsibility of feeding their entire family plus Gale’s family all by the age of 11. Her emotions are closed off because it is a defense mechanism to protect herself from falling apart. She has to hold everything together due to her mother’s emotional absence, and she knows that Prim needs her sister to be strong and stable. There are a few lines in the opening chapters of the book that highlight the purpose of the wall that guards all of her deepest emotions, “I learned to hold my tongue and to turn my features into an indifferent mask so that no one could ever read my thoughts.” Katniss also has been hardened by anger towards her mother over the past several years for emotionally abandoning her and Prim. She acknowledges that she is unable to forgive her for sitting by “blank and unreachable while her children turned to skin and bones. I try to forgive her for my father’s sake. But to be honest, I’m not the forgiving type.”

We catch glimpses of the “real” Katniss in the scenes when she is with Gale in the woods. She reveals that he is the only person that she can be herself with and we witness the natural peace that hunting brings her. It is what she lives for and is what sustains her and her family. These are solitary tasks and she is more comfortable and at peace when she is either alone in the woods or hunting with Gale. The games force her to be more social than she likes. This forces her out of her comfort zone and makes her question herself throughout the games and throughout her new found friendships with Peeta and Rue.

We see in her internal dialogue in the book how she struggles with emotion. When Katniss volunteers for her sister and Prim is clutching her and begging her not to take her place, Katniss is fighting back her emotions. “When they televise the replay of the reapings tonight everyone will make note of my tears and I’ll be marked as an easy target. A weakling. I will give no one that satisfaction.” Another time she thinks to herself “crying is not an option.” “I’ve had a lot of practice wiping my face clean of emotions and I do this now.” These examples reveal that Katniss, in fact, has a multitude of emotions but knows it is to her disadvantage to show these emotions to others. The invisible wall protecting her innermost thoughts and feelings is as strong as the armour that she wears to shield her from physical injury in the games. She is truly a warrior and a survivor and when going out to battle the first thing you do is to cover up any vulnerabilities so that your opponent does not have the opportunity to play on that weakness. Katniss knows this very well and her cold and distant façade protects her. This is why she is so unnerved by Peeta’s name being called in the reaping. She can’t shake the connection with Peeta because as the baker’s son he provided her with the bread that gave her hope, and she also associates him with the dandelion that reminded her of her father and that signified to her that she was not doomed. The series of those events increased her motivation to fight to stay alive and allowed her to persevere against all odds. She essentially owes everything to Peeta, which complicates her strategy in the games because she is no longer a solitary player but is now torn over this obligation to form an alliance with Peeta and give him a fighting chance as he did for her.

There were several changes in the plot from the book to the film adaptation that seemed to annoy me on some level which included the change in how Katniss received the Mockingjay pin, the added conversations between Snow and Seneca Crane, the fact that the muttations did not resemble the fallen tributes, and the wording of Thresh’s conversation about Rue with Katniss that was reduced to a few words. 

There were a few positive changes as far as I am concerned. The behind the scenes clips of the games were intriguing as they revealed the gamemakers manipulating the arena, and the running commentary with Claudius and Caesar added some much needed comic relief to the intensity of the rest of the film. It seemed to be a good choice to build on the role of Effie Trickett in order to give her more of a presence in this first film although they cut down Haymitch’s screen time instead which seemed odd as he is a major character in the series and has a lot to contribute to the plot.

Casting

The most pleasant surprise of this film to me was Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark. He seemed to be a real break out star in this film as he was the heart of the movie and carried much of the emotionally laden scenes. One of the stand out scenes from the film is the rooftop exchange between Peeta and Katniss where he reveals that he doesn’t want the games to change him and how he wants to go out on his own terms and doesn’t want to die as someone else. This scene highlights his acting chops and sets him apart from other actors. I admit that I wasn’t convinced that Josh would be able to pull off this role but I was absolutely wrong. He seemed to be the one member of the cast other than Jennifer Lawrence that could not have been played by anyone else. He showed that he clearly understood this character and he brought life into the role of Peeta. All of his emotion is written all over his face throughout this film and he was brilliant in every way. 

Jennifer Lawrence was the perfect choice for the protagonist in the Hunger Games, and she eloquently mastered the physical embodiment of Katniss. Her technique with the bow and arrows, climbing trees and running through the forests captured the true essence of Katniss. Jennifer excelled in the action scenes and the scenes where she was the only actor on camera. However, she seemed to struggle more in the scenes involving interaction with other characters or when she had to display emotion. It may have been Jennifer’s way of trying to possess that lack of socialization that Katniss deals with but it came off as awkward at times. Some of her delivery of the lines seemed rushed and she lost some of her spark in the most emotionally relevant scenes. Overall, she was a perfect choice for Katniss and she delivered on most accounts. However, I just felt she could have given more to the character in those emotional scenes but I expect she will grow with the series. It is common to see the acting develop as the series unfolds just as in Twilight and Harry Potter. Actors tend to grow into the characters over time and they begin to become one with the character they play allowing their emotions and physical movements to become more like their characters. I thought she was a strong presence on film and she carried the film well along with Josh. It's remarkable to think that the majority of this film consisted of very young actors and actresses and they come across as extremely professional and mature beyond their years. Jennifer is definitely an actress to keep an eye on. She already earned an oscar nomination for Winter’s Bone which was intense and raw, and she nailed that role. She is a powerful lead actress and surely will lead the Hunger Games franchise to new heights.

And how precious was Rue? She was spot on. In almost every tweet from fans on opening weekend, Rue's death scene was mentioned as being the most emotional, tear jerking scene of the entire film. Grown men were admitting to at least tearing up as Katniss sang Rue to sleep. The filmmakers did that scene justice!

All I can saw about Cinna is Wow!! Most of the emotional scenes displayed in the film took place in the scenes between Cinna and Katniss. At first I wasn’t sure why Lenny Kravitz was chosen for this role because I didn't even know that he was interested in acting, but all I have to say is that it really worked. Who knew he could act so naturally? Love the gold eye liner - brilliant!

The majority of the casting seemed flawless except for Snow and Haymitch. Donald Sutherland really doesn’t pull off the cold, calculating, creepiness that President Snow is supposed to exude. I would have chosen a more sinister actor to portray the evil President. 

Woody Harrelson does the best he can with his portrayal of Haymitch, but it didn’t seem like a good fit. When reading the book, I envisioned Brendan Gleeson who brilliantly played Mad Eye Moody in the Harry Potter series. Die hard fans of the Hunger Games lobbied persistently for either Robert Downey Jr. or Hugh Laurie whose grouchy, cynical nature has won over millions of fans on his hit show House. Either one of those leading men would have showcased Haymitch in the way he was intended. It was unfortunate that we didn’t get to observe more of the other young tributes from all the districts as many were killed instantly. Certain actors only got a few seconds of screen time, but several of those young actors made those seconds count.

The overall look of the movie was breathtaking. In this case I feel that the scenery and cinematography outshined the acting. I give the Capitol costumes, scenery and set 5 out of 5 stars! Kudos to the location scouts who found actual secluded woods in North Carolina to film a large portion of the arena and District 12. They filmed the training center scenes in an old abandoned Phillip Morris warehouse which was an amazing find. 

It really made a difference to see Katniss and Gale hunting in a natural habitat, and the arena ended up looking just as I had pictured it in the book except for the cornucopia which ended up looking cold and flat since they decided to go with a modern metal version, which appeared to be a disappointment to most audience members based on the reviews and tweets on opening weekend. Fans of the book focus on every detail, and it’s difficult to not be disappointed when filmmakers change up part of the scenery or plot. Readers have these scenes burned in to their imagination from multiple readings and major deviations from that creates an opportunity to throw the focus off. However, the filmmakers did several things right. The special effects, authentic locations and the upclose, documentary shooting style paid off to create an experience that left us feeling as if we were there in the midst of the Hunger Games ourselves. 

One thing I've noticed from all the twitter buzz about this movie is that fans are very territorial, and fans from other franchises like Twilight and Harry Potter are unwilling to give another series a chance as they feel that they would be betraying their favorite franchise if they even entertained the thought of enjoying this film. I'm a fan of Harry Potter, Twilight and Hunger Games and my advice is to not compare them to each other and to just sit back, relax and enjoy all 3! 

4 out of 5 stars. Intense, Engrossing, Suspenseful, Eye opening Social Commentary for a New Generation!