Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence, right) is reunited with Gale (Liam Hemsworth, left) to lead a rebellion in “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1”. Photo by Murray Close.
As unwilling as she was to be the Capitol‘s pawn in The Hunger Games and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) finds herself at the forefront of a growing rebellion against the Orwellian government in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1. Despite having inspired this rebellion with her defiance in the previous two films, Katniss is almost as reluctant to lead this battle as she was to participate in the Games initially. Grieving the loss of Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), Katniss is too busy blaming herself for his capture by the Capitol to lead a rebellion against it. At the urging of President Coin (Julianne Moore) and Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and after seeing the death and destruction the Capitol is willing to inflict on those who defy its authority, Katniss agrees to lead this battle.
Mockingjay is about as different from its two predecessors as it could possibly get. Instead of the every-man-for-himself nature of The Hunger Games and the uneasy alliances that were formed in Catching Fire, Katniss is now leading a united front with the common goal of overthrowing the Capitol and restoring freedom. With the Capitol somewhat weakened, and the districts (including Katniss’ own District 12) mostly destroyed, the elaborate costumes, makeup and hair have been replaced with utilitarian gray jumpsuits, even for the otherwise flamboyant Effie (Elizabeth Banks) and a reluctantly sober Haymitch (Woody Harrelson). Instead of being forced to take part in the senseless deaths of her peers for mass viewing enjoyment, Katniss witnesses mass murders by anonymous Peacekeepers, all wearing the same white helmets and armor. And despite the Capitol’s best attempts to prevent the rebellion from growing, more and more commoners are being inspired by Katniss and risking their own lives to take down their oppressors.
Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) is doing the Capitol’s bidding in “Mockingjay – Part 1”. But is he being forced into it? Photo by Murray Close.
But in much the same way that Katniss never meant for her actions in the Games to inspire this rebellion, it’s the hope of rescuing Peeta from President Snow (Donald Sutherland), not the desire to lead a revolution, that drives her. The fact that she has already been reunited with her other sort-of boyfriend Gale (Liam Hemsworth) makes her struggle that much more difficult. And with the Capitol using a seemingly brainwashed Peeta to spread its propaganda, it’s often difficult for Katniss to maintain the emotional strength needed to lead this battle.
Like the first two films, Mockingjay, at times, invokes other dystopian works such as Aliens, Metropolis and The Matrix trilogy, visually and thematically. But in doing so it creates an interesting new chapter in The Hunger Games saga that shows the characters maturing as darker times are on the horizon. And with what should be a celebratory finale before next year’s Mockingjay – Part 2, we’re instead left with a disturbing cliffhanger, both on a personal level for Katniss and on a larger scale for the entire rebellion. For those who weren’t already hooked by the first two films, Mockingjay leaves this viewer hungry (pun intended) for the next chapter.
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