On Nov. 17, “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” was released in theaters, reigniting the love for one of the most popular dystopian franchises of all time.
“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is the prequel novel to author Suzanne Collins’ iconic “The Hunger Games” trilogy, revealing the villain origin story of president Coriolanus Snow (or “Coryo,” to friends and family). The movie, starring Tom Blyth as Coriolanus and Rachel Zegler as female protagonist Lucy Gray Baird, is a wonderful, but imperfect execution of the novel. Something I was worried about when it came to this movie is that Coriolanus would be humanized and sympathized with. Collins’ book begins with Coryo being written as someone you want to root for. However, by making him an unreliable narrator, Collins shows his slow descent into cruelty magnificently. No matter how charming the actor’s portrayal of a character, a villain is still a villain, and one as cruel as Snow deserves no empathy. However, the movie delivered flawlessly on this aspect, managing to intelligently show Snow’s gradual loss of humanity and internal moral battle. Blyth’s performance as Coriolanus is jaw-dropping, and I cannot imagine anyone else in his role. Zegler also delivers the performance of a lifetime, bringing Lucy Gray to life so beautifully and accurately that it gave me chills repeatedly throughout the film. My favorite part of the movie was by far the casting. Alongside Blyth and Zegler, the movie stars Hunter Schafer as Coryo’s cousin, Tigris, and Josh Andrés Rivera as kindhearted Sejanus. Every single actor in this film perfectly captured their character and left no space for disappointment in their performances.
I loved the film, but that is not to say that it was perfect. Unfortunately, some of my favorite scenes from the book were cut out, and I was disappointed by the diluted presence of some great characters, such as Lucy Gray’s found family back in District 12, the Covey. Some of the missing scenes are ones that I think would have made the movie even better, but at a whopping runtime of around two hours and 40 minutes, I understand why they could not include everything. However, with as much story they cut from the film, the film felt rushed at some points, which left me partly unsatisfied. Nevertheless, I am still deeply impressed by the production of this movie and how captivating the crew managed to make every second of it.
Overall, I would (and probably will) watch this movie over and over again. While the book is superior, “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is a film that will leave you fascinated and hungry for more from Coriolanus and Lucy Gray.
