The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanna Collins came out on May 19, 2020 and was a huge shock to me when I saw it in my local library. For a couple years, I had heard that Collins had a new book in the works that would be a prequel of sorts set in the world of The Hunger Games with the working title simply being Untitled Panem Novel. I was curious as to what it would entail, but did not think about the book too much until it came out and got my hands on it.
I devoured the book once it came out. It provided a fascinating glimpse into the past of this popular series and made me rethink so many things about several key characters. Then when I learned about the movie adaptation, I became even more excited. The Hunger Games movies have received flack in the past for various reasons but I have always enjoyed them as fitting adaptations and could not wait to see what would in store for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
The movie follows the story of Coriolanus Snow, the president of Panem and the main antagonist of The Hunger Games, in his youth and in the early history of the titular Hunger Games. Snow, along with several of his classmates, have been selected to act as mentors for the incoming tributes of the 10th Hunger Games.
Snow gets to mentor the District 12 tribute, Lucy Gray Baird, and he is determined to win so that he can get the prize money to save his family’s legacy and wellbeing. Lucy Gray does win, but as a result of Snow cheating, and he is sent to be a Peacemaker in District 12. While there, Snow and Lucy Gray grow closer, but Snow’s friend Sejanus participates in treasonous acts with rebels and Snow exposes him, leading to Sejanus’ death.
Snow and Lucy Gray decided to run away together to escape the consequences of what happened with the rebel plot and their ties to it. As they are leaving, Snow realizes that he cannot trust Lucy Gray with his secrets and she ends up betraying him, fleeing into the woods and never to be seen again. Snow returns to the Capitol where he accepts a mentorship under Head Gamemaker Dr. Volumnia Gaul.
My favorite performance had to be Viola Davis as Gaul. Davis plays Gaul with this eerie, unhinged, yet calm energy that I found to be incredibly engaging. Gaul is easily one of the most despicable people in the entire Hunger Games franchise but I cannot help but enjoy seeing her on screen being performed by Davis.
The rest of the cast was also quite good. Tom Blyth as Snow did very well at portraying his character. Through his performance, you can see the man we know from the previous movies begin to take form. A line spoken by adult Snow’s actor Don Sutherland in Mockingjay: Part 2 placed at the end of this movie really sells it. Rachel Zegler did great as Lucy Gray in all of her scenes. Her singing throughout the film was top notch and a treat to listen to. Additionally, Peter Dinklage as Casca Highbottom was quite fun. Highbottom is a fascinating character and I could not think of anyone better to play him than Dinklage.
The set and costume design were remarkable. It feels so distinct but has the same dark feel as the rest of the franchise. The way the technology is designed to make it feel older that what we see in the present day of The Hunger Games but still beyond what we have currently in the real world, shows just how much the Games have changed and sophisticated.
One of the main things that stood out to me about the movie was how much the plot was condensed. The original book is over 500 pages and including every last detail would not translate well to film. It was likely for the best, as to not make the movie last longer than it had to or split it into two movies like Mockingjay was.
The tightening of the pace helped to get through the necessary plot points in a timely manner. However, it resulted in the loss of some character development. The entire movie feels as if it takes place over only a few weeks while the book, it is much longer. The back-to-back events have little room to breathe in between each other and there is not much time where we get to see how Snow and other characters change as a result of them other than in the moment.
Lucy Gray’s betrayal moment especially feels a bit out of the blue as a result of this. Her sudden ditching of Snow seems out of character as her actions in the Games are reduced. In the book, we get to see Snow’s realization of her potential danger and cunning as a victor but that does not come across as strongly in the movie.
Several other character details are also left out because of moments being cut or shortened. As a result, it does not quite capture the subtler impacts of the book. But that does not diminish the overall good of the movie and how it adapted the book. The average viewer will likely be fine with missing details not in the movie. It is only me as a fan of the book who would get annoyed by this sort of decision.
Overall, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was a rather enjoyable movie. This is an incredibly compelling series and I am glad that it was able to get another film adaptation. I would be interested to see if another movie was to get made on a different Hunger Games and how it would turn out.
