Review: ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’
Anchored by powerhouse performances from Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a tense, gripping dystopian epic that’s just as much a haunting character study as it is an intelligent political thriller.
The Hunger Games franchise is highly regarded as a very different beast compared to its YA counterparts. Where the Harry Potter franchise was more whimsical in nature, Twilight more romantic and Divergent more convoluted thanks to its needlessly dense attempt at world-building, The Hunger Games felt more elevated and visceral thanks to its rich exploration of thought-provoking themes, in addition to a powerful narrative that never talked down to its YA audience, but instead trusted them enough to fully grasp onto what it was trying to say.
It’s no surprise, then, that the latest entry into the franchise, a prequel set years before the events of the first film, is just as if not even more political and introspective than the films that came before it, exploring the origins of a world that millions have become familiar with throughout their adolescence. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, directed by Francis Lawrence, who directed three of the four initial entries in the franchise, and adapted from Suzanne Collins’ New York Times bestselling book by Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt, functions as a quasi political thriller of sorts, exploring the underbelly of the games that lie at the center of the film, as well as a haunting, searing character study that delves deep into the psyche of one of the most iconic villains in recent times.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes takes viewers back 64 years before the events of Katniss Everdeen’s story and explores the earlier life of Coriolanus Snow, who later becomes the tyrannical President of Panem. In this prequel, a young Coriolanus Snow, portrayed by Tom Blyth, becomes the last hope for his declining Snow family. Once a prestigious lineage, the Snow family has now fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. Threatened by the loss of his livelihood, Snow reluctantly takes on the role of mentor to Lucy Gray Baird, played by Rachel Zegler, a tribute from the impoverished District 12. However, when Lucy Gray’s captivating charm captures the attention of the Panem audience, Snow sees an opportunity to change their destinies. With everything at stake, Snow joins forces with Lucy Gray to tilt the odds in their favor.
Considered one of the most memorable villains in modern day franchises, President Snow, played by Donald Sutherland in the first films, was wickedly cunning and practically monstrous, watching with unadulterated glee (and deftly pulling the strings) as 24 children fought to the death on a yearly basis in the film series’ titular games. It was only thanks to Sutherland’s layered performance that President Snow never came across as a caricature, but rather a fully formed human being with feelings and intent. Tom Blyth’s performance somehow adds even more texture and richness to Sutherland’s in the original films, not only perfectly complementing it but also expanding on his carefully-constructed performance in spades. It should easily be a star-making performance for Blyth, whose mostly known for his charismatic leading turn in Epix and MGM+ series Billy the Kid but will undoubtedly be on to bigger and better things following the film’s release.
Playing opposite Blyth, Rachel Zegler is simply spellbinding as the driven and headstrong Lucy Gray, delivering a pitch perfect performance that will easily allow audiences to root for the character. Thanks to Zegler’s powerhouse performance, Lucy Gray is the beating heart and aching soul of the film and, just as the Capitol falls in love with Lucy Gray, so will audiences, who will find themselves captivated by her journey. In a lesser actress’ hands, Lucy Gray could have very well been a one-note archetype rather than the three-dimensional, multi-faceted character she is, but Zegler gives a nuanced, deeply soulful performance that adds additional layers to what’s on the page, further enriching the character and adding warmth to an otherwise purposely cold film.
The decision to have Zegler perform every single song live on set as opposed to lip-syncing to a pre-recorded track infinitely elevates both Zegler’s performance and the film itself, as she’s able to convey her character’s highly disguised pain and suffering through her vocal delivery alone. Much has been made about the amount of songs in the film (and in the book) but the musical sequences are short and sweet, never overstaying their welcome or alienating the audience. In fact, the film could have done with some more scenes of Lucy Gray performing; whenever Zegler sings, the film soars – and her absence is sorely felt whenever she isn’t on screen.
Elsewhere, Josh Andrés Rivera delivers a captivating performance as the once-hopeful Sejanus Plinth, a friend and classmate’s of Snow who is originally from District 2 but now resides in the Capitol with his parents. Torn between his loyalties to his hometown and his newfound status as a recent resident of the Capitol, Sejanus finds his morals tested even further following the appointment of a former classmate from District 2 as his tribute. Rivera is able to effortlessly capture Sejanus’ inner turmoil with a haunting, incredibly complex performance that will stay with viewers far after the credits roll. Hunter Schafer, on the other hand, is criminally underused as Coriolanus’ earnest and upbeat Tigris, although she manages to make a strong impression with what little screen time she has. Jason Schwartzman, Viola Davis and Peter Dinklage also manage to impress with pitch perfect performances that fit flawlessly into the world of Panem.
When it comes to visual spectacle, the film isn’t as extravagant or colorful as the earlier Hunger Games films in terms of both cinematography and costume design, with more of a toned-down color palette that ends up complementing the film’s more visceral, somber nature. Where the film stumbles, however, is in its third act, which is at once somehow both drawn-out and rushed. Lawrence recently lambasted his decision to split Mockingjay, the third novel in Collins’ original trilogy, into two films, which is a sentiment echoed by most fans of the film and book series. However, Ballad would have easily benefitted from being split into two films, as its 517-page length easily trumps that of Mockingjay‘s, which stands at 390 pages. As a result, the film overstays its welcome by the time it hits its conclusion, sadly losing its steam by the time it reaches the end of its 157-minute runtime.
Overall, however, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a tense, gripping, tragic dystopian epic that also doubles as both a haunting character study and an intelligent political thriller, exploring the origins and the psyche of a deeply flawed, complicated person that ended up becoming one of the most iconic villains of our time. Fortunately for Lawrence and co, the film’s first two acts are genuinely thrilling and mesmerizing to watch – and by the time credits roll, audiences will have been happy to revisit Panem, even though the journey may get slightly bumpy by the end.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes will be released in theaters this Friday, November 17.