The Hunger Games (2012)

♣♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is busy hunting in the woods with her best friend Gale (Liam Hemsworth) for animals that they can trade for food and other items at the Hob of District 12. They almost forget that today is the day of the Reaping. Every year, a boy and a girl is drawn from a pool of teenagers at every district to be sent as tributes to the Hunger Games, a battle royale to the death at an artificial arena devised to constantly remind the districts of what happens when they rebel against the Capitol. The name of Katniss’ sister Primrose (Willow Shields) is drawn, which leads her to volunteer as tribute to save her. She is joined by baker’s son Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) and they are immediately whisked away by train to the Capitol where they are trained by drunkard Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), a tribute from District 12 who happens to be their only victor in the 74 years of the games’ history. Only one winner will emerge alive. Who will it be?

Damn, the difference in tone between how I imagined the novel and how this film adaptation ended up is just so jarring. For instance, the first 15 minutes or so are just so gray and grainy that the film feels so dated despite being released just 14 years ago. As the movie progresses, I realized that it was somehow intentional to provide some contrast between the life in the districts and at the Capitol. Flamboyant hues make their first appearance with Effie Trinkett (Elizabeth Banks) before going full neon as we finally reach the Capitol. Impressive in terms of artistic choice and vibes! Like watching two totally different movies!

Another big difference is the somber tone of the film. I realized halfway through that much of it is due to the absence of musical scoring in the first half of the movie. It seems as though it just kicked in when they finally entered the arena. The novel was just too loud with Katniss’ stream of consciousness that the 180 degree turn here in terms of sound design really lent a mix of gloomy and solemn vibes to the narrative. It just evokes an unshakeable feeling of foreboding which jives well with the dystopian fiction genre.

Of course they couldn’t have included all of Katniss’ thoughts in the movie. Otherwise they would’ve bored us to death with voice overs. This did the film a huge favor because you don’t know what’s going on in Katniss’ head, unless you read the novel beforehand. This also tilts the dynamics of the romance angle in Peeta’s favor. Most of Gale’s exposure in the book is via Katniss’ thoughts which serve as flashbacks. Here, Gale only appears at the beginning and in glimpses of a few seconds each all throughout the film.

This also weakens Katniss’ cynicism and pessimism in the book, which in turn makes it feel as though she fell in love with Peeta for real, as opposed to the really evident just-for-show vibes in the book. They also cut out the part in which Katniss readily aims her bow at Peeta when the two-victors-from-one-district twist is revoked, which makes it appear as though her feelings for him trumped her survival instincts, which I believe were stronger in the novel. In fact, the love triangle angle is just too on-the-nose in the books, perhaps because of the young adult target audience.

As for more differences between novel and film, there are several. Madge gives the Mockingjay pin to Katniss in the novel; she isn’t even introduced in the film. In the novel, the muttations that attack the final three are suggested to be the dead tributes themselves but this is dropped in the film, which is good because I found that subplot quite unsettling. Haymitch makes his first appearance in the film on the train, not at the Reaping. The cave and feast scenes at the arena also unfold faster in the movie; they felt too dragging in the book.

Another thing I liked is how the director took creative advantage of the POV shots. That trackerjacker delirium sequence outdid the book in so many ways, thanks to the perks of film as a medium. They made it as cinematic as they could but also in a way that it draws you into the perspective of the character herself. And of course, that stark contrast between the circumstances of the people at the Capitol versus the gladiators in the arena. It’s sinister AF, and the film really makes you feel it. In this regard, this is one of the rare instances, in my opinion, in which the film is better than the source material.