The Hunger Games

A film set in a dystopia. The country is divided into twelve districts and the capital runs all of them. Every year one girl and one boy are chosen from each district. Those chosen are put into an arena and fight until one is left. All of it is broadcast live. Katniss volunteers in place of her twelve year old sister when the sister's name is drawn. From there the film splits in two. The first part is preparation: the journey to the capital, stylists, interviews, finding sponsors and making the public like you. The second is the arena. A forest, a water source, an artificial fire, and producers changing the rules whenever they want. What the narrative is interested in is not violence but broadcast: the film is really about performing in front of an audience, and Katniss survives by being liked rather than by fighting. The Peeta line is ambivalent for that reason; how much of the relationship is real and how much is for the broadcast is left open. The look of the people in the capital is deliberately overdone; coloured hair, painted faces and a game show host. The camera shakes, particularly during violence. Part of that choice was about keeping the certificate low, and it was the main criticism at the time. The source is a novel by Suzanne Collins, who also worked on the screenplay. It was shot in North Carolina. Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland are in the cast. Gary Ross directed. Who it is for: anyone who wants a young adult adaptation with a strong lead. Who it is not for: anyone expecting the book's interior voice; most of the narrative happened inside Katniss's head and that voice is not in the film.