The film The Hunger Games (Gary Ross, 2012) is based on a ‘young adult’ novel. It offers its audience (presumably mostly youngish) this profoundly depressing view of the world. Each of you is in competition with every other individual for your very survival. You have to kill all the others in order to win the crown, to be the richest or most powerful person. Not only that, but the game master may at a whim introduce some extra barrier or trial—or indeed change the rules without notice. The fact that the situation is different in the year of the 74th Annual Hunger Games changes nothing about the culture: the 75th will proceed as usual.
I was disappointed to see Wes Bentley in the least sympathetic role in this appalling film. I literally haven’t seen him since American Beauty (Sam Mendes, 1999) one of my favourite movies, in which he played a very sympathetic character: plastic-bag guy. Still a good actor, despite his ridiculous facial hair here.
The Hunger Games (Gary Ross, 2012)
reviews | Garry Gillard | New: 1 March, 2017 | Now: 1 March, 2017