Ava Wahl
The most memorable poster for “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” the recent movie rendition of Suzanne Collin’s 2020 Hunger Games prequel, tells us forebodingly that “everyone hungers for something.” This movie had captured my appetite for months as I waited in anticipation to see if the directors had portrayed Collin’s book with the artistry it deserved.
I loved the Hunger Games prequel novel, which chronicles the experiences of Coriolanus Snow more than sixty years before his cruel reign as President of Panem. He mentors a mysterious, musically talented District 12 tribute in the 10th Hunger Games named Lucy Gray Baird, and his morality is tested as he struggles to gain and maintain the power his family had lost through years of war and poverty. Snow is willing to push boundaries and break rules to ensure Lucy Gray’s victory and his own success, sending him down a dark path of loss, grief, betrayal, and distrust that sets the stage for his rise to power.
Tom Blyth plays Coriolanus Snow brilliantly, capturing his greed and innermost doubts with authenticity. Lucy Gray is brought to life by Rachel Ziegler, whose beautiful voice and kind portrayal of the tribute give her character fascinating depth. Supporting performances by Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, and Jason Schwartzman also add a mixture of exquisite acting and comic relief to the film.
The cold, stark, and astonishing set design created a stunning backdrop, from the Panem Capitol’s imposing stone buildings to the musty taverns of District 12. I felt the characters’ joys and pains as they traversed the littered streets of the Capitol and the crumbling horrors of the arena. The feelings of darkness and danger often associated with the Hunger Games came through loud and clear, and the vague, restless perturbation that characterizes Collin’s storytelling also shone in this film adaptation.
While I found the film extremely beautiful and compelling, it was lacking compared to the original novel. By cutting certain scenes and aspects of the book, the film failed to persuade and capture the audience with as much complexity as the novel. Despite being over two and a half hours, the film still felt rushed, moving from one jaw-dropping scene to the next without much time to process any revelations or emotions. That, unfortunately, is the downside of packing a lengthy book into a feature film. Given the source material, the film accurately encapsulated an extraordinary amount of the original story, which I found incredible. Yes, I wished that some scenes had not been cut, but overall, I was impressed with this rendition of Snow’s backstory.
Most of all, the movie delivered an emotional, entertaining story that reminded me why I fell in love with the world of the Hunger Games in the first place: for its commentary on human nature, relationships, and its memorable, complex characters. I strongly recommend this film to fans of the Hunger Games series or movies, and I promise you will enjoy the show.