*Warning: Spoilers Ahead!*
Almost eight years after The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2’s release in theaters, Lionsgate released a new Hunger Games film–The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Directed by Francis Lawrence, who directed the previous films in the franchise, and featuring Tom Blyth (Billy the Kid) and Rachel Zegler (West Side Story) as the leads, this movie follows Coriolanus Snow, the future president of Panem, sixty years before Katniss’s Hunger Games.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes does not, unlike the original series, center around one of the tributes in the games, but around someone pulling the strings from outside the arena. When Snow realizes that the only way for him to win the coveted Plinth Prize is to make his assigned tribute, Lucy Gray Baird of District 12, win the 10th Hunger Games, he will stop at nothing to see that come to pass. However, as his feelings for Baird grow stronger, Snow’s actions take on a desperate, violent edge.
The performances in this movie are nothing short of brilliant. Blyth’s portrayal of Snow’s spiral from an ambitious student into an obsessive murderer never feels too rushed, and the casual cruelty of his earlier actions fuels this arc perfectly. Even though his actions are clearly unethical, Blyth manages to make the audience sympathize with Snow’s plight by masterfully toeing the line between a teenager desperate to save his family and a power-hungry narcissist. Meanwhile, Zegler’s performance as Baird is equally stunning, and the rawness she brings to the role perfectly contrasts Snow’s two-faced nature. Zegler also makes it clear to the audience how much Baird has changed thanks to the horror of her circumstances; the subtle gloom surrounding Baird during the second half of the movie is especially obvious after seeing the sunniness of her character during the earliest parts of the movie. It’s just about impossible not to root for her every step of the way. Other impressive performances came from Hunter Schaefer (Euphoria), Josh Andrés Rivera (West Side Story), Viola Davis (How to Get Away With Murder), and Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones).
The movie’s masterful detailing was equally incredible. From the first scene of two children running through a desolate Capitol to the eerie voice telling the tributes to “Enjoy the show!” as they enter the arena, and then to Baird’s young cousin singing cheerfully as two people are shot in the back of the very same building, each detail, large or small, contributes to the horror of the situation in Panem. These gloomy aspects help convey the bleakness of the characters’ situations, and masterful cinematography only helps to make the film gut-wrenching.
From beginning to end, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a riveting story of cruelty, greed, and the hope that pervades in darkness. Everything combines to make the movie a thrilling watch, and is certainly worth the buzz it has been receiving from fans of the original series.
