The Bloodsport of THE HUNGER GAMES

A mega-best selling trilogy by Suzanne Collins has spawned this first installment, The Hunger Games, adapted by Collins, Billy Ray, and director Gary Ross for the big screen as a satisfying adventure thriller featuring a terrific performance by budding superstar, Jennifer Lawrence. The film avoids the pitfalls of previous best-sellers turned into films that lacked a sound structure for the uninitiated readers (as in The Da Vinci Code); it works quite well for newbies. The filmmakers have kept the main storyline compelling and emotional within the framework of an action film.

 

In the not too distant future, a group of twelve districts has been punished for 74 years for a failed rebellion. Each year, they must participate in a random lottery or ‘reaping’ of their youth for a lethal competition, a fight to the death with only one winner. The games are grand, lavish events that are in essence, public executions in the guise of entertainment. There are specific rules and boundaries except when they suit the whims of the game masters. Food, weapons, and supplies are made available but not without an accompanying danger, and there are sponsors who can provide life saving assistance and support in timely ways.

In one district, Katniss (Lawrence) is a teenage girl who is good with a bow and arrow and dotes after her younger sister, Primrose, and their mother. She is close to a boy, Gale (Liam Hemsworth), who has strong feelings for her. When Primrose and a boy, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), are chosen for reaping, it sets off a surprising series of events including a desperate sacrifice by Katniss as the chosen few must train for their lives in a competition that is televised nationwide. The contestants are feted like celebrities and are mentored by a former survivor named Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) with support from Cinnas (Lenny Kravitz effective in a brief role). When these modern day gladiators are released into the wild, loyalties are tested and survival instincts take over, and a grand spectacle is replaced by a grim fate that awaits all but one survivor.

Director Ross (Seabiscuit) knows how to tell a good story and he is aided immensely by a strong cast that melds newcomers with seasoned veterans like Harrelson, Wes Bentley, Stanley Tucci, and Donald Sutherland. Special mention goes to Elizabeth Banks as a macabre emcee. Lawrence (Winter’s Bone) shines in a physically demanding role, but she never shortchanges her ability to show feelings and angst in a convincing way. You root for her and feel her pain. Her portrayal of Katniss has a genuine decency and soul which, despite the savage nature of the games, reveals her humanity for the world to see. Might her actions and deeds register among the masses and have far reaching consequences?

This brave new world of deadly sport (that plays like a perverted version of TV’s Survivor), is authentically realized by impressive set designs and costumes which contrast two disparate worlds-a pauper class of citizens and the gaudy elite. If much of this film’s storyline sounds familiar, it draws from pop culture sources as Shirley Jackson’s short story, The Lottery, and films like The Most Dangerous Game, The Truman Show, and The Running Man. Even elements of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and George Orwell’s 1984 come to mind with its oppressed societies and ever watchful video screens, and when cannon fire signals a fallen victim, it echoes moments from Capricorn One. The sacrificial humans are dubbed ‘tributes’, a contradiction of terms not unlike Orwellian propaganda and its mixed meanings e.g. “War is Peace”.

While The Hunger Games ends in a manner that could be considered a conclusion, it does leave events open to a followup. Strong, emotional ties that are formed during the games have powerful implications at home, and the outcome sets the stage for the germination of a movement. I for one am very curious what will happen next.

*** of **** stars (add ½* for Jennifer Lawrence)