Deliverance from District 12

Rating: 5/10 (13 September 2016)

"May the odds be ever in your favour."
There are several strands that hold this movie together above the average pop culture adaptation. Most obvious of all these is the performance by Jennifer Lawrence in the lead role, especially given the level of expectation from the books' legions of devoted fans. Even she was reluctant to endanger her credibility by taking on such a high-profile role, and so this is a rare case where the payment of a highly lucrative salary to acquire the lead of choice was money well spent. It is an impressive feat that in embodying Katniss Everdeen, Lawrence manages to successfully portray a character who has to combine the steely determination of an Amazonian-style warrior together with a level of vulnerability commensurate with her tender years. The latter is best observed in the touching scene where her attempts to protect the child Rue prove fruitless. The synopsis of the story-line has Katniss break tradition in volunteering herself as female tribute from District 12 for the capitol's Games. This she does in order to protect her younger sister from selection, leaving Katniss having to fight to the death in a forested arena to be the last tribute standing. As such, the premise offered great potential for translation to the 'big screen'. This potential is realised in part by the contribution from Tom Stern whose glorious cinematography adds edge to an otherwise anodyne adaptation. In addition, other solid character performances from the likes of Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson, and Donald Sutherland add their weight to this feature. Tucci never fails to deliver and offers a memorable oily performance as the unctuous TV host of the Games, Caesar Flickerman. The casting of Harrelson was especially inspirational as he brings a vital spark to the character of Katniss' appointed mentor and former champion of the Hunger Games, Haymitch Abernathy. Even though I had not read the books prior to seeing the movie, it quickly becomes apparent that with an actor so capable of bringing real 'edge' to his portrayals as Harrelson, an opportunity was lost to provide far greater foreboding to the overall feel of the film. Another missed opportunity lies with the insufficient screen-time or characterisation given to Sutherland's portrayal of the malevolent President Snow. Perhaps, the most surprising successful addition to the cast is that of Lenny Kravitz as fashion designer Cinna. By contrast, the casting of Josh Hutcherson was wholly unconvincing as the male tribute for District 12, Peeta, whose persuasive charm gradually wins over our resolute heroine. Overall, from the selection of the tribunes destined to fight to the death for each district, through to the killings themselves once the games start, it is clear that the film has been shackled by an attempt to appeal to a younger audience. A further weakness is the lack of depth to the film, with the brevity of background given to the origin of the games, and the political undercurrents existing in this fictional land of Panem, failing to induce greater emotional involvement for the audience. The director, Gary Ross, more renowned for social satire and comedy, makes a surprise choice to bring this young-adult literature sensation to the big screen. Though he does accomplish an entertaining end- product, the film does lack a level of grit which the dystopian vision behind the novels called for. This is despite the presence of Suzanne Collins as part of the screen writing team. The inspiration for her novels were accordingly the result of channel-surfing between reality shows and graphic news images from the war in Iraq. Unfortunately, the darker connection between media-inspired violence and the need to attain popular acclaim to survive is not captured in the cinematic version, and, as such, the obvious comparisons with the cult classic 'Battle Royale', which many still feel to be an uncited inspiration behind the original book, will always leave this film wanting. Not even the 'Golden Globe' nominated Best Original Song, written and performed by Taylor Swift, supported by the superb 'The Civil Wars', actually features in the movie, only being the second song to accompany the end credits. Ultimately, however, it is the lack of chemistry at the heart of the story's 'love triangle' that is the film's weakest link.