Mockingjay Split Makes Sense To Me

Rating: 8/10 (21 November 2014)

*tons of spoilers in this review*
I liked the film. I liked it a lot. I thought the bad reviews were wrong and the good reviews didn't quite understand the film. I'll get to that in a bit.
One of the problems of writing professional film reviews for mass consumption is that they are intended for everybody, including people who are not particularly invested in going to see the movie. As such, there are certain points that every author must hit in his or her review. For example: This is Philip Seymour Hoffman's last film; Effie is funny; Alma Coin is awesome; the film is 2 hours and 3 minutes long; it is based on a book. Then, after most of the reviews from the top critics are out, the review author can't deviate too much from the opinion of that crowd or the review will sound . . . well . . . stupid.
I love to be spoiled. I read every review that came out, and I kept reading the same things over and over again. One set loved the film. The other set kind of sort of didn't like it, but the strange thing was that most of those reviewers were angry because the film ended. Also, some of the reviews contradicted each other:
1) The film was too long v. the film was too short 2) The film had no action v. the film had the most action ever! 3) The film had no violence v. the film was too violent 4) Katniss clearly loved Peeta v. Katniss clearly loved Gale 5) District 13 was too dreary v. District 13 was too posh
Ooookaaay . . .
But what I want to address is the idea repeated most often: that Mockingjay Part 1 was only half a film divided solely for profit. Yes, profit was a factor, but I disagree with the notion that the film cannot stand on its own. The film, in my opinion, was entirely self-contained. The theme of the film was sacrifice, specifically how much sacrifice Snow and Coin are willing to make in order to achieve their agendas. The answer is: each leader is willing to let innocents die. Snow is more traditionally Stalin- esque. Coin is downright Machiavellian.
The film opens on Katniss who has been completely destroyed by the hunger games. It ends with a shot on Peeta, once the bright light of reason and humanity in Katniss's life, now completely destroyed by Snow and Coin's maneuvering. The middle part involved Katniss's struggle to save Peeta and to ignite rebellion. She does this in part because she is trying to save Peeta, whom she is afraid will be harmed by District 13 when they take the Capitol, and later because she is genuinely infuriated by the atrocities unleashed at District 8. But what the film does nicely is to subtly hint that this rebellion is actually not costing District 13 at all. Instead, the districts and Peeta take the full force of the Capitol's wrath while Coin sits complacently on her arsenal, directing traffic from the sidelines.
Mockingjay - Part I, to me, is not really about sparking the rebellion, or at least not in the same sense as in Return of the King where the first half involved the gathering of armies and the action-packed siege of Minas Tirith. The rebellion is certainly a large part of Mockingay, but that does not mean the uprisings should merely be seen as the build-up to the climatic, righteous revolution. If instead you view the film as a political film, you will be able to see how the movie stands on its own. The real structure revolves around Katniss's slow realization of who Coin is.
The professional reviewers all rave about Julianne Moore. They are right. She's great in the role. From the very first moment, she emanates calm and sharp intelligence. More than that, she seems genuine and almost maternal. At times she warmly tells Katniss exactly what she needs to hear, and even provides her comfort. She is clearly a great leader of District 13. But is she the right woman to govern all of Panem? Probably not. Her interests are entirely fused with District 13. She is not willing to sacrifice her own professional soldiers to further the rebellion. She prefers to let the districts do the dirty work. She and Plutarch film propos to inspire unarmed citizens to launch frontal assaults on peacekeepers armed with automatic weapons. Does she even provide air cover? Nope. It is revealed later that she wants to keep her weapons hidden in order to retain the element of surprise.
Coin's victory speech at the end is not played for heroics. Instead, it becomes an ominous harbinger of what's to come: more death, more destruction, but only for the people Katniss loves, not for District 13.