THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY  Part I    3.0***

 

            It seems that it has become an unofficial Hollywood money-making policy that, when adapting successful young adult novels for the screen, the last entry in the series must be divided into two separate films. The Harry Potter series did this to great financial effect, as did The Twilight Saga.  The upside to this approach is that filmmakers don't have to pare down the final book as much; they can include more of the story by spreading it out a little. The downside is that the first half of the finale tends to be a lot of setup for a payoff that comes about a year later. That can make it a less-than-satisfying experience in and of itself.  Mockingjay – Part 1 suffers from that downside  but still offers something new to the franchise which helps mitigate the half-a-story syndrome.

 

The plot picks up with Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in District 13 after the spectacular ending to the last Games. President Coin of District 13 (Julianne Moore) and former Game maker Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who rescued her, are leading a rebellion against the oppressive Capitol. They want Katniss to be the face of that rebellion. She initially resists, but then learns that President Snow (Donald Sutherland) has Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) at the Capitol, and is using him to campaign against the rebellion. In order to save Peeta, Katniss reluctantly agrees to become the public symbol of the rebellion. Katniss is filmed in a series of dramatic propaganda TV videos designed to encourage everyone in the remaining districts to rise up.

 

The movie is a worthy entry in the series because it does something very important. Mockingjay – Part 1 is an astute examination of a political rebellion and how masses are motivated and manipulated.  The film explores concepts of propaganda, myth-making and the ethics of deciding when/how to put people in danger.  It's fascinating stuff which makes the relative lack of big-ticket action go down a little easier  while also sergving as a huge promo for the big 2015 finale.  As always, Jennifer Lawrence anchors it all, bringing raw emotion to her role. Political machinations can be interesting in and of themselves, yet having such a relatable heroine gives them genuine weight here. Lawrence provides Katniss with just the right amount of hesitation. She may not be fighting for her life this time, but she's most definitely fighting for her soul and her morality, so the stakes are still high.

 

The look and feel of the film is different from the first two. There is much less action ( no games and none of the spectacle) and the Capitol scenes are brief and mostly in tight shots focusing on Snow, Peeta, or the unctuous interviewer Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci). We do get a sense of the sparse military/living conditions in District 13, where  Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) can’t get any alcohol drinks, Effie (Elizabeth Banks) can’t get any  make-up or costumes, and even Katniss has to demand that her sister be allowed to keep her cat.

 

Another problem  with the movie is the story doesn’t come to a satisfying end but rather to an abrupt intermission-type ending with a I year wait for the finale. Those who haven’t read the books will likely feel frustrated and those who haven’t seen the other movies shouldn’t even bother.

 

Clark