Lionsgate presents The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes in UK cinemas from November 17, 2023.
Synopsis
Coriolanus (Tom Blyth) the last hope for his failing lineage, the once-proud Snow family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With his livelihood threatened, Snow is reluctantly assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a tribute from the impoverished District 12. But after Lucy Gray’s charm captivates the audience of Panem, Snow sees an opportunity to shift their fates.
Review
Panem today, Panem tomorrow, Panem… 64 years ago. It’s time to return to The Hunger Games for a closer look at how the deplorable Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) became the villain who would eventually fall foul of Katniss Everdeen and her revolution. It’s been 8 years since the last entry in the franchise, but can returning director Francis Lawrence reignite interest the bleak future for the former United States of America?
Lawrence directed three of the previous four films in the franchise. Joining for 2013’s Catching Fire and sticking with Panem through both parts of Mockingjay in 2014 and 2015. Surviving the decision to split Mockingjay in to two parts, Lawrence has cleverly kept The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, of which the novel was released during the pandemic, as one movie. But beyond this, Lawrence has shrewdly reunited with many of the creators who helped make the previous films a box office juggernaut.
The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes isn’t just a faithful adaption of Suzanne Collins’ novel, it’s also steeped heavily in the world of the previous movies. Composer James Newton Howard returns to bring a familiar soundscape to Panem and its surrounding districts. Whilst costume designer Trish Summerville also returns, dialling the clock back but keeping so many of her design sensibilities. They’re joined by production designer Uli Hanisch who, whilst new to the franchise, again maintains much of the design language in both the Capitol and District 12 to ensure environments in the film feel familiar.
The film opens with a tantalising flashback to what is known as the “Dark Days”, the period when America fell in to civil war. A young Coriolanus Snow and his cousin Tigress are foraging for food amongst the dead in the Capitol. It’s a brief moment which perfectly sets a precedent for the more aggressive, violent nature of Songbirds & Snakes. The film rarely holds back. Without all of the incredible tech witnessed in 2012’s The Hunger Games and sequels, this new chapter has little to hide its brutal nature behind.
As is so often the case, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes seeks to humanise its central character. Though we know he becomes a hideous figure in the future. This version of Coriolanus Snow has some way to go. Living in relative desolation the young Snow is desperate to graduate top of his class, securing a grant for his ongoing education. He aspires to work as part of the titular Hunger Games though at this stage their popularity is not what it will one day become. But there are hurdles in his way. The creator of the games, Dean Casca Highbottom (Peter Dinklage), has a chip on his shoulder when it comes to the Snow family. Between Highbottom’s manipulations and the intervention of head Gamesmaker Volumnia Gaul (Viola Davis) Snow has little control over his own future. A brilliant reflection of what happens to Katniss in the future.
In a twist to the 10th annual Hunger Games, the graduating class – including Snow – has one last assignment to complete. Mentoring one of the chosen children who will be forced to compete in the arena. Snow, coming from what was once one of the finest houses in the Capitol, expects to be given one of the better tributes. But when he’s assigned to District 12’s Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) he fears his future is doomed. Baird’s purpose in the story serves a number of purposes. Firstly she serves as a reminder of Katniss and a connection to District 12. But she also challenges Snow’s character on every level, injecting the film with the kind of love story on which this YA book-to-movie genre is built.
Zegler is dynamite casting for The Hunger Games. Lucy Gray is infused with a similar strength of character to Katniss. But her approach is less selfish and more selfless. Where Katniss fought tooth and nail to save herself from the games, Lucy will protect those around her at all costs. Given the number of songs written in to Collins’ novel it certainly helps that Zegler has an incredible voice.
Zegler also happens to have great chemistry with Tom Blyth as the future President Snow. Blyth brings a nativity and likability to Snow in his early days. It’s not hard to sympathise with him as he struggles to feed his family and put clothes on his own back. The spark between Snow and Lucy Gray feels well baked in to the core of the story. Their performances and the tension surrounding the games helps to distract from the inevitable downfall which rapidly approaches in the final act.
Herein lies the biggest hurdle which The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes has to overcome. The inevitability of its future. There’s no saving grace for Coriolanus Snow. Lucy Gray doesn’t appear as a kindly elder statesmen and former victor of the games still living in District 12. So as we reach act three there’s somewhat of a rush to have the characters reach their fates. Though an aspect of self-preservation has always existed within Snow, the film rushes to push him past the point of no return. It’s not an imperceptible switch which comes by surprise. But the already 2 hour 37 minute runtime needed to dedicate a little more time to developing his darker side.
Technology has moved on from when Lawrence last made a Hunger Games film. But given the film’s setting there is also less technology to hand meaning there’s less reliance of visual effects. What effects there are, creating the Capitol and various creatures like Gaul’s Snakes, look great. As the real world around us sets itself on a collision course with Suzanne Collin’s vision of the future, Panem has become a simpler environment to create and the film looks great for it.
Between composer James Newton Howard and songwriter Dave Cobb the sound of Panem is incredible. Newton Howard recalls moments from his original scores for key scenes whilst injecting a tonne of new music in to the landscape. The folksy nature of District 12 makes a welcome return to the big screen alongside this new musical element brought in by Lucy Gray and her Covey group. The songs themselves all start from a similar root of folk music. But each song takes on a different approach from the foot-stomping “Nothing You Can Take From Me” to a haunting, country-tinged rendition of “The Hanging Tree” which fans of the original series of films will no doubt remember.
Verdict
The Hunger Games franchise is revitalised by a trip 64 years in to the past. Whilst the arc of its main character feels a little rushed, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is a dystopian tour de force. Blyth and Zegler are an incredibly leading duo.
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