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.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2020)

I put off reading this Hunger Games prequel for a while. I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of a story centered on young President Snow, and it just seemed like there’s enough untapped potential elsewhere in the world of Panem that would’ve interested me more. But I’ve talked with other people who liked the book, and as casting announcements continue to come out for the film adaptation (Rachel Zegler and Peter Dinklage and Viola Davis, oh my!), I decided to take the plunge.

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.

In a story like this, the most important thing is how the main series antagonist is portrayed in his backstory. On the whole, I’m pleased. There are a lot of factors in Coriolanus’s life that influence how he grows up, from his proud, fastidiously patriotic grandmother to the careful calculations he makes to appear like the family is still rich, when in fact they barely scrape together enough to eat. However, this isn’t a Misunderstood Woobie backstory—though his life in the Capitol isn’t charmed, Coriolanus still makes his own decisions, and as he weighs his options, he continually chooses actions that are guided by self-interest and fear.

I appreciate that. We see how tough life can be for him, but instead of gaining empathy for those who are suffering even more, he grasps for his slice of the pie before anyone else can take it from him. He sees the ruthlessness and cruelty of the Capitol up close and personal, but rather than reject its propaganda, he clings even tighter to the strictures it’s taught him. Through mentoring in the Hunger Games, he’s increasingly forced to reckon with a girl from the Districts as an actual human being, but the only way he allows himself to do that is to view her as not being truly District.

I still like the major non-Snow characters better and would’ve rather gotten a story focused on them. The idea that the Hunger Games are relatively new and the format is still being ironed out is interesting—this is only the 10^th Hunger Games—and I think there would’ve been enough of a draw for fans with the series without the Coriolanus “hook.” I love Lucy Gray, who’s a very different sort of character to Katniss but strong in a way that’s entirely her own. She’s also a musician, one of the itinerant Covey people, and the musical passages in the book remind me that The Hunger Games series handles music so well, which can be really tricky to pull off on the page. Other characters who really intrigue me are Sejanus, a boy from District 2 who’s been struggling with his allegiances since his rich/influential father moved them to the Capitol, and Dr. Gaul, the sadistic Head Gamemaker.

Getting back to the idea of the potential of stories about Panem, while I understand its narrative purpose, I’m a little disappointed that Lucy Gray is from District 12. Yes, 12 is the absolute bottom of the District barrel—Coriolanus is affronted to be assigned its girl tribute, and Lucy Gray’s extreme underdog status adds further drama to her time in the Arena. Furthermore, it allows for references that resonate deeply with the original series. However, there are twelve Districts (originally thirteen,) and yet, across four books now, we’ve still mainly just seen District 12 and the Capitol. I really wish we could get stories set elsewhere in Panem. The plot of this book wouldn’t be significantly different if Lucy Gray was reaped from 11 instead of 12, which would’ve given us the opportunity to explore a different region of the country, and I think stories set in 3 or 4 someday could be very different and cool.

Warnings

Strong violence (including children being forced to murder each other for sport,) drinking, disturbing imagery, and strong thematic elements.