The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2023, PG-13)

*Premise spoilers.*

Over the years, my opinion on the Hunger Games books and movies has been a bit mixed, but I do ultimately love them. And I did really like reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, even if I preferred the original trilogy. I’m glad I finally got a chance to check out the new film. On the whole, I think it’s a strong adaptation of the book.

More than 60 years before the events of the original series, Coriolanus Snow is strategizing for his future. Since the Districts’ rebellion against the Capitol, his once-wealthy family has been trying to maintain appearances, but they’re desperate. His best hope to get a university scholarship and preserve the family’s status is to do well in a new program, in which Capitol students mentor tributes in the Hunger Games. Coriolanus is disappointed to find out he’s being saddled with the long-shot District 12 girl, but Lucy Gray Baird defies his expectations in more ways than one.

From a cinematic standpoint, it’s good to be back in this universe. The film does a nice job depicting this earlier period in Panem’s history—I like the more old-fashioned clothing paired with the more modern technology (which itself is still old-fashioned compared to what’s used in the trilogy.) It’s interesting to see the Capitol here, trying to do luxury on a post-war austerity scale as opposed to the decadent excess of the original movies. And while the movie does inject a bit more action and narrative suspense into the actual Hunger Games, I don’t think it goes over-the-top with it. Throughout, it emphasizes that this is a very early Hunger Games, without all the flashy terror and grotesque pageantry it evolves into, and watching these kids struggle to stay alive in this low-tech, bare-bones Arena is still gripping to watch.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a long book, and even though the movie is pretty hefty as well, I also think it does a nice job of streamlining things while still being a pretty faithful adaptation of the book. There are obviously plenty of cuts, but there were only a few scenes that I really wished had been included or adapted more closely. If there’s an area where the film struggles, it’s in fully conveying Coriolanus’s inner life and motives. In the book, we spend a lot of time in his head, which is critical because his thoughts are often at odds with the outward show he puts on. I do think the film misses some of that, and while I was able to fill in the blanks on Coriolanus’s character, I’m not sure if non-book readers would view him as more sympathetic than he ought to be.

But even if they could’ve gone further, the film does delve into who Coriolanus is and who he’ll become. Tom Blyth’s performance helps that along quite a bit. We see how Coriolanus puts on his game face to perform the roles that are expected of him, and we dwell on his reactions when he chooses to do the self-serving thing instead of the right thing. We see his doubts about his actions right alongside his justifications. After reading the book, I was really excited to see Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray, because she’s such a different character than Maria from West Side Story, and Zegler knocks it out of the park. Lucy Gray projects confidence and showmanship like a shield, but she’s also capable of intense honesty and vulnerability. And the singing? My God! Again, Lucy Gray’s singing is nothing like Maria’s, and I just love the raw, defiant edge Zegler brings to the songs Lucy Gray sings over the course of the games.

Josh Andrés Rivera (Chino from West Side Story) plays the conflicted Sejanus with passion, Viola Davis is equal parts off-kilter and chilling as the sadistic Gamemaker Dr. Gaul, and Peter Dinklage is terrific as the bitter administrator Dean Highbottom. Also effective are Fionnula Flanagan as Coriolanus’s grandmother, Hunter Schafer as his cousin Tigris, and Jason Schwartzman uncannily channeling Stanley Tucci as Hunger Games host Lucky Flickerman. And this film continues the franchise’s knack for letting the smaller characters shine in brief moments—we see it here from a number of the tributes, along with Coriolanus’s mentor classmates.

Warnings

Violence, sensuality, drinking/fictional drug use, language, disturbing images, and strong thematic elements.