I am going to move away from my ordinary blog posts in order to discuss something that is very important to me: Movies.
Ever since I was little, I loved going to the movies because I loved getting lost in another world. For that very same reason, I read fantasy novels and recently I read all three books in the Hunger Games Trilogy.
Obsessed. Impacted. Devoured. Few words describe the way I feel (any many feel) about those books. I could see a world dancing on the page in front of me riddled with emotion, manipulation, power, loss, bravery and fear. I could see and feel everything, which, in my opinion, is what makes the book so powerful. Emotion. All marketers know that emotion is an extremely powerful tool in motivating consumers and the Hunger Games books all play with emotion beautifully. You fall in love. You hate. You desire. You cry. It sometimes felt like an emotional roller coaster, but it was sensational - the books, that is.
As a a lover of movies, I could not wait until the Hunger Games came out. I was curious to see how the director would take a book written in first person and project it on screen. I wondered how they would balance emotion and violence. I wondered if it were even possible to account for so many details. I will say that I do understand the restrictions faced by Hollywood. Only so much can be done in a movie. I understand that and react accordingly, but this book is different.
I saw the movie last night at 10:45 pm and I was tickled with excitement. The theater was busy, I was with friends and I was hungry for some manipulative entertainment. I sat and watched the movie and when I emerged from the theater I was at a loss for words. Buzzing around me were things like "amazing," "incredible," "Loved it!," but I couldn't reciprocate those words.
I will say, the movie was very well done given the restrictions. The acting was very good (particularly Jennifer Laurence, Josh Hutcherson and Donald Sutherland). The violence was engaging. But, regardless of its strong suits, I couldn't help thinking that something was missing. And then it struck me, emotion! The movie did have some emotional parts, but I felt that in general it lacked the power of emotion. The books fueled desire by being emotional and I didn't feel that in the movie. The most powerful part for me was seeing district 11 after the scene with Rue and it was only in that point where I felt the manipulative power of the film. Children are dying. The world is falling apart. People watch kids kill each other while eating their dinner. And yet, the power of Hollywood could not muster an ounce of sympathy from me.
Knowing the book, I watched and knew the emotions I should of felt. Saw interactions that were stronger in the book. And saw deaths that did not strike me as powerfully, even though visual representation is a powerful tool for demonstrating emotion. I felt like I lost something that was so powerful and important and though I did enjoy the movie, I can't help thinking that a few more interactions or a few more powerful lines would have made me cry, or fall in love, or hate.
At the L.A. premier, Donald Sutherland said that "This is a story about getting young people to rebel," which I agree with completely. The story is about rebellion and fear, but the movie doesn't do that justice.
I will see it again and I am sure that I will like it more the second time, but I will never feel the emotions that course through the ink-blotted veins of the books. Again, it was very well-done and a good movie, but the power of the situation and the bravery of characters like Peeta Mellark felt overlooked and under-developed. I am still hungry and I just hope that some fire with satiate me.
