Film Review: ‘Mockingjay, Part 1’ Dark, Brooding, and Thinly Stretched

By: Anthony Hernandez

From Lionsgate Films and director Francis Lawrence comes The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 – another in a long line of final franchise films split into two parts, where the first part is a slow, methodical character driven buildup to the final “epic showdown” in the second part. But where the final Harry Potter film – which was also split into two parts – succeeded in a bringing us a beautifully character driven and emotional plot, Mockingjay, Part 1 brings us a dark, brooding half-film where very little actually happens. It has the potential to be a solid first part filled with intrigue and some key moments – but in the end, this is just another 45-minute movie stretched over 2 hours of film.

For the fans of the Hunger Games franchise, the only true suspense in this first part lies in where exactly the filmmakers have decided to split the film in two – leaving the audience with a sort of quasi-cliffhanger after just enough incident to barely sustain its running time. Granted, there is a stark shift in the tone of the film that is welcomed, especially when compared to its predecessors.

After the wild, incredibly satisfying ending to Catching Fire (the best film in the series so far) – Katniss has been saved from the bloody “Quarter Quell” Hunger Games and brought to the hidden District 13 where a rebellion has formed. All the while, President Snow (played by a deliciously creepy Donald Sutherland) tightens his grip on the other Districts – including leveling District 12 as a sign on strength. Rebellion will not be tolerated, as we are so often reminded.

Gone is the bloodsport of the games and bright, colorful pageantry of the Capital celebrations. What we get now is the start of a dark, underground rebellion. This is merely observation rather than criticism. I appreciated the shift away from the games to a more visceral, politically driven story about a world at war and how those with power in the government and media attempt to stifle the voice of truth and change. It’s somewhat provocative, and both timely and relevant. But unfortunately the filmmakers don’t trust their audience enough to make anything truly resonant, instead what we get is a mild glimpse of something ominous and bleak in the future.

Most of the main plot revolves around Katniss returning to District 12 with a small film crew to make a propaganda film about the evils of the Capital. However, the problem with this arc is that Katniss is supposed to be our pure guiding light in a world of darkness, but is forced to dabble in the seedy world of political and media deception employed by Capital cronies – albeit, for a noble cause. So, instead of just compromising the character as a shining beacon, the filmmakers have given her very little to actually do and therefore she retains her purity – even though we, the audience, have to suffer a sad and seemingly oblivious Jennifer Lawrence. They’ve taken an incredibly strong female character and turned her into a paragon – still strong, but stripped of some of what made her so interesting (and human) in the first place. 

The overall cast performances – along with the capable cinematography, beautiful color palette (a key tonal shift from the first two films), and phenomenal production design – really elevates Mockingjay, Part 1 above your typical dystopian film. Lawrence does what she can with the empty moments of emotion and visual bleakness. What else is there to do when you spend most of the movie standing around looking upset while the world crumbles – only to move to the next scene where you stand around looking upset while the world crumbles even more?

Julianne Moore – playing the wispy grey-white president Coin – has a sort of gritty elegance about her, while Effie – my favorite character – is played with incomparable lucidity and grace by the wonderful, and criminally underused, Elizabeth Banks. Woody Harrelson and Josh Hutcherson are given very little to do – especially the latter, since his job through most of the movie is to be brainwashed and stand there, on a screen with different haircuts to make Katniss upset. Philip Seymour Hoffman, in his second-to-last film role, is charming, enigmatic, and just a bit sinister… In fact, it appears that every new alley has their own agenda and is untrustworthy to some degree. And finally Gale, played by Liam Hemsworth, starts to emerge as a viable, heroic love interest for Katniss – if only she could stop staring at the screen and crying whenever Peeta appears.

I wish I liked the film more. A lot happens, but the movie fails to progress to anything meaningful. The real underlying issue is the fact that this is Part 1 of 2; and the fault lies in the big Hollywood money machine that continues to bowl over decent franchises by stretching them beyond what the source material can sustain. Mockingjay could have easily been one 3-hour epic that would have been both satisfying and intelligent (and would have still made a truck load of money). Instead, we see half a film that doesn’t quite stand on its own.

However, Part 1 will most definitely get you pumped for Part 2 – where there is promise of a truly epic conclusion to an overall great series!

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1  

Run Time: 123 minutes  

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images and thematic material  

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, Elizabeth Banks   

Director: Francis Lawrence  

Writers: Peter Craig & Danny Strong