So I Saw The Hunger Games...

I have A Story about The Hunger Games (that pretty fantastic YA series by Suzanne Collins which...look if you don't know what I'm talking about, you're under a bigger rock than I am...). When I first picked it up, it was at the recommendation of someone whose reviews I had really enjoyed online. So I set off for the closest library and indulged myself in some YA fiction. And got hooked. And had to immediately drive to two different libraries in order to pick up the sequel, Catching Fire. Which I finished and promptly put myself to work searching for the final book. The problem was, Mockingjay, the conclusion of the series, wasn't even published yet, let alone at the library.

So I put myself on the list for it. At position number 274. Which isn't that big a deal especially since I ostensibly had other things to read (like my school books). But then the Miami-Dade Public Library system set up a new thing where in order to check out books, you have to renew your library card each year, and in order to renew, your account has to be paid off. So. Since I had a bit of a backlog of debt I am very forgetful, you understand they turned off my card and cancelled my holds.

Including Mockingjay.

So I haven't finished the series and I hadn't re-read the books in a few years when the spoilers and casting photos and otherwise general tomfoolery for the movie began to seep into my Internet Spaces.

That was all to say: 1) spoil me and die, 2) I'm coming at the movie with a book-ish spin, and 3) Really. Spoil me and DIE

I'm gonna start off by saying that I actually really enjoyed the movie. But by far one of the best parts of it was getting to see it with my sister. Considering the SCoM rarely reads the same books I do, it was a pleasure to go see a movie based on a book we had both read. As well, because she absolutely adores the book, she finally got to see how I feel when my babies are put on the big screen.

This isn't going to be much of a review, if I'm being honest because I didn't take any notes as I usually do. However, the SCoM and I did have a discussion in the car on the way to the comic book store about the differences and how we felt about them, so that's what I'm going to discuss.

Regardless, ye shall be warned:

Right, so the movie opens pretty much exactly as the book does, with less of the flashbacks and various "setting up the setting" details we need in a book. The cinematography in this movie was excellent, as was the set design. The Powers that Be did a fantastic job in really capturing the colors and feel of the different areas. The grittiness of the outlying districts in comparison to the garish decadence of the Capitol was not something that was just explained, rather it pretty much punched us in the gut whenever there was a shot of backgrounds.

As well, for a book that is told pretty much from the confines of Katniss' head, the writers and directors and Jennifer Lawrence herself did a phenomenal job in conveying her turmoil and the roiling thoughts that are in her head. In addition to the acting Lawrence is able to do with just her eyes, the scriptwriters also nicely fleshed out the world of the book, giving us insight into the Gamemakers, the Sponsors, and all of the other background elements that Katniss hints at but can't really devote any of her thoughts to (as she's, you know, trying not to die). Providing the audience with the shape of the world as well as presenting the movie as if we are Capitol-dwellers watching it did a lot to convey the storyline.

But. Okay, here's the thing. When I read the book, I remember really disliking Katniss. When I re-read it a few days ago I changed my opinion slightly (I like her a little more now) but I distinctly recall kind of hating her. And a lot of the reason for this was the waffling and machinations she gets up to in her own head.

Being in Katniss' head throughout the book really lets us see that she is actually Acting Out the romance with Peeta because she becomes aware that this is the only way she and him are going to make it. By selling their story to the viewers, they might make it out of the games alive. Being in her thought process reveals to us, the reader, that not only does she understand the game, but she thinks that Peeta is playing it, too. And he's better at it than she is.

That's why the ending, when Peeta is so injured he physically cannot leave the cave, has blood poisoning, and is essentially dying in her arms is so important and such a turning point in the novel. It's the part where the stakes are high enough that she must make a senseless decision - she has to risk her life in order to save Peeta's, effectively cementing their relationship in the eyes of the viewers (and probably Peeta). But even at this part in the book, Katniss isn't sure of her true feelings. She actually says:

"I haven't even begun to separate out my feelings about Peeta. It's too complicated. What I did as part of the Games. As opposed to what I did out of anger at the Capitol. Or because of how it would be viewed back in District 12. Or simply because it was the only decent thing to do. Or what I did because I cared about him." (pg. 358-359, THG, 2008)

 Throughout the book, Collins makes it clear that Katniss is putting on a show. The packages she gets from Haymitch nudge her in the direction she should be acting, but she is very aware of the fact that she is playing a part for the viewers of the Games. Without insight into Katniss' mind, it is pretty difficult for that to come across for an audience of a movie.

My feelings about the movie, then, are confused. On one hand, I liked it. The visuals were gorgeous, the way they filled out the world was welcome, and the acting was a lot better than I really expected. As well, seeing it with a bunch of people who also read the books (and most of whom were 14 year old girls) was quite the...experience. There was a lot of screaming and people yelling at the screen, and yes. That's why I like seeing movies when they premiere.

On the other hand, I found myself constantly filling in the scenes with what Katniss was thinking during them throughout the novel. And in retrospect, while I liked the movie, I can't quite separate whether I would have liked it had I not had that supplementary commentary running in my head.

But my biggest nitpick has to be the end. When Peeta and Katniss are essentially trapped in the cave near the end of the book, they are hopeless. Katniss is just trying to figure out what she needs to say in order to be rewarded with the medicine she needs to save Peeta's life while Peeta is honestly just trying to survive. His wound is described as festering, he has blood poisoning and is nearly incoherent. He is so wounded, after the medicine he can barely walk and once they're free of the games, Peeta is given a false leg because even the Capitol couldn't save his.

The wound and its care are major plot points in the book and they dictate what Katniss does as much as her possible feelings for Peeta.

So while I can forgive a lot of the minor differences between the two mediums, making Peeta's leg wound a non-issue is not one of them. Taking away the stakes that result from the severity of his injury make Katniss' turmoil less apparent and appears to cast her as Peeta's actual love interest. Which, if that's the way they were going, should have been more apparent.

I felt the movie didn't commit to having Katniss and Peeta really be in love nor to Peeta being so injured Katniss has no choice but to save him regardless of her feelings. And that lack of commitment didn't do the film any favors.

I liked the movie, I really did. I'm just not sure as to some of the choices the writers chose to make. That didn't stop me from enjoying it. Nor did it stop me from crying when this happened:

Like a baby, I cried. Me and the SCoM both. Rebellion gets to me, okay?