This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
By Amanda Keats
Her support in the film comes in the shape of Josh Hutcherson as Peeta, Liam Hemsworth as Gale, Woody Harrelson as Haymitch, Elizabeth Banks as Effie and Donald Sutherland as President Snow. But the acting talent does not stop with this impressive core. The supporting cast each bring something to their respective roles.
Squeamish fans be warned, the rating may be a 12a but the violence is not. There may be nine seconds less of blood spatter but there is a shot of one tribute breaking the neck of another in one swift movement which still makes me shudder to think of it. Those who fear the violence is a bad thing, let me assure you that both book and film far from glorify it. It is an essential part of the story, illustrating the horrors the citizens are forced to endure at the hands of their government. What is written around so eloquently by Collins in the book is horrific to watch on the big screen though. There is no way to detach from it like there was in the book, as in the arena there are no wigs, no make-up – just 24 children vying for each other's blood in order to protect their own.
What Ross has done in this adaptation is spectacular. He hasn't been wholly concerned with the book fans and forgotten that people will just want to see the film. He caters to both markets. This is not a page by page adaptation to the big screen but it is a perfect example of what great adaptations should do – take the original text and adapt it lovingly to a new medium.
This is one of the finest adaptations I have ever seen. The fundamentals of the story are upheld, the very best actors are there to breathe life into Collins's creations and the imagination and emotion that resonates off ever page of the book is there in every scene in the film. For a film that could so easy have become an overly sentimental tearjerker, favouring either action or plot, it remains poignant, subtle, heart-wrenching and above all, the perfect balance of action and violence with emotion and character-driven plot.
Book – 9/10
Film – 10/10