Knight of Cups

Written and directed by Terrence Malick, Knight of Cups is the story of the troubled life of a Hollywood screenwriter who goes on a personal journey to find live and self-discovery during his trip to Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Rumored to be part of an informal trilogy with The Tree of Life and To the Wonder as the films are semi-biographical stories on Malick’s own life. The film is partially inspired by the Christian allegory The Pilgrim’s Process and the passages Hymn of the Pearl and Acts of Thomas as they’re featured in a film that plays into a man trying to find his own existence in a decadent world. Starring Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, Wes Bentley, Imogen Poots, Antonio Banderas, Isabel Lucas, Freida Pinto, Teresa Palmer, Brian Dennehy, and the voice of Ben Kingsley. Knight of Cups is a rapturous and exhilarating film from Terrence Malick.

Surrounding himself in Los Angeles and the world of Hollywood, the film revolves around a screenwriter coping with himself and struggles as he surrounds himself with different women while dealing with issues in his family including his father. It’s a film that doesn’t really have much of a plot nor a traditional narrative structure as it is largely loose in its storytelling structure where it’s largely based on the Knight of Cups tarot cards as each card represents a part of the journey that film’s protagonist Rick (Christian Bale) takes. Along the way, he deals with loss but also regret into things in his past while being aware of the environment he’s in that is filled with temptation, immorality, and decadence. In the course of the film, there are a lot of voice-over narration not just from Rick but also the many characters who are part of his life either temporarily or permanently while there is also this mysterious voice by an unseen character (Ben Kingsley) who recites passages and texts that relate to these tarot cards.

The lack of a conventional screenplay does allow its writer/director Terrence Malick to not just take on some major risks of what he would do as a storyteller. He would also go very deep into a world that might seem disconnected from the real world but also display that sense of disconnect as it relates to the reality that is encountered. Shot largely in Los Angeles as well as some scenes shot in Las Vegas, the Californian/Nevada deserts, and other parts of the American Midwest including St. Louis. It is a film that showcases that sense of conflict in a man who is embarking on this journey of self-discovery where he ventures into all sorts of things with different kinds of people. Among them are representations in the themes of the tarot cards in the form of Rick’s many different lovers in Della (Imogen Poot), a model named Helen (Freida Pinto), a spirited stripper named Karen (Teresa Palmer), a mysterious young woman named Isabel (Isabel Lucas), his ex-wife Nancy (Cate Blanchett), and a former lover in Elizabeth (Natalie Portman).

The usage of wide and medium shots for many of the film’s locations as well as close-ups for some of the intimate moments are very potent in their imagery while Malick’s usage of hand-held cameras in its mixture of 35mm film and digital just add to the sense of beauty of these images. Yet, there is so much more as it play into something that is very off-kilter as it relates to Rick’s own sense of uncertainty, loss, and self-discovery where the camera sort of acts as this unknown being watching over him. Plus, the narration acts as that sense of internal conflict within Rick who is yearning for some meaning in his life but is tempted by things such as money, beautiful women, and all of these things. The scenes involving Rick’s brother Barry (Wes Bentley) and their father Joseph (Brian Dennehy) show that sense of conflict that looms over Rick as well as loss where the narration reveal that they’re all suffering with Barry venturing into a self-destructive path that claimed the life of his brother.

Malick’s usage of handheld cameras do have this very evocative feel to the way everything is filmed while he also plays with time-lapse imagery. While it largely a style that is very experimental and certainly won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. It plays into something that does feel very personal where Malick is showing a world that he was a part of but one that showcases that struggle from having it all but also leaving a world where things were simpler. Adding to that air of simplicity is specter of spirituality as it relates to the character of Isabel, some of Helen’s private activities, and what Malick shows in Los Angeles and Las Vegas as it play into something is calling into Rick in his own personal journey and in the words of this unseen narrator. Overall, Malick creates an intoxicating yet enchanting film about a man’s personal journey of self-discovery through the chaotic world of Hollywood.

Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki does spectacular work with the film‘s very naturalistic cinematography to play with the many looks of the locations in the day as well as the scenes set at the home of this amoral millionaire along with some dazzling images of scenes set at night including a strip-club and the scenes set in Las Vegas which is so gorgeous to look at as it‘s one of the highlights of the film. Editors Mark Yoshikawa, Geoffrey Richman, Keith Fraase, and A.J. Edwards do brilliant work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts and disparate cutting montages to play into sense of wonderment that occurs throughout the film as well as some abrupt cuts to help structuralize the film. Production designer Jack Fisk, with set decorator Beauchamp Fontaine and art director Ruth De Jong, does amazing work with the some of the interiors in the homes that Rick encounters including a mansion in its dining room along with the look of the strip club with its neon lights.

Costume designer Jacqueline West does excellent work with the clothes that many of the characters wear including the Armani suits that Rick wears and some of the stylish dresses that many of the women in the film wear. Visual effects supervisor Jamison Scott Goei does fantastic work with the film‘s lone visual effects sequence as it relates into the mysterious elements of the universe described in one of Rick‘s voice-over narrations. Sound designers Joel Dougherty and Will Patterson do incredible work with the sound in the way much of the voice-over narrations as well as the sounds of the cities and locations mix without overwhelming each other along with some textures into the parties and such as it add so much to the world that Rick is being tempted by. The film’s music by Hanan Townshend is superb for its classical-based score with its serene string arrangements and low-key percussions while music supervisor Lauren Marie Mikus creates a soundtrack filled with classical pieces as well as contemporary music where the latter play into the parties scenes and what is playing on Rick’s car.

The casting by Francine Maisler and Lauren Grey is phenomenal as it features appearances from Joe Manganiello, Ryan O’Neal, Fabio, Danny Strong, Beau Garrett, Nick Kroll, Nicky Whelan, Jelly Howie, and Katia Winter as themselves appearing in Hollywood parties. Other notable small appearances include Thomas Lennon, Joe Lo Truglio, Jason Clarke, Joel Kinnaman, Peter Matthiesson, and Clifton Collins Jr. as colleagues of Rick who are part of that world as well as appearances from Nick Offerman, Michael Wincott, and Shea Whigham in small roles as Hollywood business personalities, Dane DeHaan as a tarot reader’s son, Jamie Harris and Lawrence Jackson as a couple of burglars, Patrick Whitesell and Rick Hess as a couple of agents, Cherry Jones as a relative of Rick’s, and Armin Mueller-Stahl as a priest who provides Rick some guidance into his own sense of doubt. The voice of Ben Kingsley as this unseen figure is superb for the sense of mystique that looms over the film as well as providing a sense of spiritual context into Rick’s journey.

Imogen Poots is fantastic as this rebellious fling of Rick’s in Della who asks Rick questions about his faithfulness and direction in life while Teresa Palmer is excellent as this stripper named Karen who entrances Rick as she accompanies him to Las Vegas. Freida Pinto is wonderful as the model Helen that Rick meets at a party as he briefly goes out with her while being intrigued by what she does at her home while Isabel Lucas is terrific as this innocent and playful young woman who is interpreted as this angelic figure that helps him find his way home. Wes Bentley is brilliant as Rick’s brother Barry as a man accompanying Rick throughout Los Angeles as he copes with his own issues as well as those relating to their father. Brian Dennehy is amazing as Rick and Barry’s father Joseph who deals with aging and being phased out while providing some somber narration as it relates to much of the text and legends of the tarot cards that would help guide Rick in his journey.

Antonio Banderas is incredible as a Hollywood playboy named Tonio as a man that represents all forms of temptation and immorality as someone that has a lust for life, excess, and women as he is sort of a comical figure in the film but also that representation of what Rick could be. Natalie Portman is radiant as Elizabeth as a former lover of Rick whom he loved dearly as she is seen as someone that could help find redemption for him as well as provide a link into what he could have if he chose the right path. Cate Blanchett is remarkable as Nancy as Rick’s former wife who devotes her time helping people as a physician as she copes with the love they had lost as well as the fact that there’s still feelings for one another as she is a representation of what he had and later gave up. Finally, there’s Christian Bale in a tremendous performance as Rick as a Hollywood screenwriter lost in the world of decadence and temptation as he copes with loss, guilt, and uncertainty where Bale doesn’t say a lot in the film but say a lot in his voice-over work where he would display that anguish and conflict of a man trying to find himself in his own personal journey of self-discovery.

Knight of Cups is a phenomenal film from Terrence Malick. Largely in part to its ensemble cast, a compelling premise, gorgeous visuals, and intoxicating music. It’s a film that is definitely challenging while not being something for everyone due to the fact that is told in a very unconventional form. Even as it displays some big questions about the world of temptation, loss, and life itself in ways that is very personal in the hands of its creator. In the end, Knight of Cups is a sensational film from Terrence Malick.

Terrence Malick Films: Badlands - Days of Heaven - The Thin Red Line - The New World - Tree of Life - To the Wonder - Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience - (Voyage of Time: Life's Journey) - Song to Song - A Hidden Life - (The Way of the Wind)

© thevoid99 2016

Interstellar

Directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Christopher and Jonathan Nolan, Interstellar is the story of an engineer who takes part into an interstellar mission to find a habitable planet through wormholes in the hopes he can save humanity including the children he’s leaving behind. The film is an exploration into the world of outer space and the world beyond where a man joins a space crew to find salvation just as Earth is in ruins. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Casey Affleck, Wes Bentley, and Michael Caine. Interstellar is a grand yet exhilarating film from Christopher Nolan.

Set in a world where planet Earth is being destroyed by dustbowls and are forced to live on whatever agricultural resources they have, the film is about an engineer who is asked to go to outer space to find a habitable planets through a wormhole as he is forced to leave his children behind. Through this mission, Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) tries to find a world in the hopes to save humanity but things become complicated as time becomes sparse due to time dilation. Back on Earth, Cooper’s daughter Murph (Jessica Chastain) tries to finish a theory left behind by Professor Brand (Michael Caine) in the hope that her father comes back. It’s a film that plays into ideas of theory of relativity as well as a man trying to do whatever to save humanity and return home to his family.

The film’s screenplay by Christopher and Jonathan Nolan doesn’t just explore the concept of interstellar travel where time becomes very complex where an hour spent in a planet can actually take years on Earth or any part of the galaxy. It adds to the dramatic aspect of the story and Cooper’s desire to hoping to come home and make a difference as his absence made it hard for his daughter to deal with. Even as Murph as she gets older becomes resentful while wondering if there was any kind of hope to the mission at hand. There’s also a sense of desperation that occurs between Cooper and Brand’s daughter Amelia (Anne Hathaway) who is part of the mission as she is trying all she can to make sure they succeed but complications ensue where their encounters with a planet to retrieve data from previous missions begin to fall apart.

While the script does have a traditional structure where its first act is set on Earth as Cooper tries to uncover a series of mysterious messages he found with a younger Murph (Mackenzie Foy) that lead him to be contacted by Professor Brand. Yet, what Cooper is asked to do by Brand would be a hard decision to make as it would hurt him to leave Murph and his son Tom (Timothee Chalamet) as the film’s second act is about Cooper’s mission in space with Amelia and two other astronauts in Romilly (David Gyasi) and Doyle (Wes Bentley) where it takes them two years to travel from Earth to the wormhole near Saturn. Then comes this third act where it crisscross the narratives of both Cooper and the adult Murph where the latter tries to finish Brand’s theory as well as figure out the codes that she encountered as a child. Especially as they both have to deal with forces that would prevent a reunion between father and daughter from happening.

Christopher Nolan’s direction is definitely astonishing in terms of the visual scope that he presents. Shot in this 2:35:1 aspect ratio in 35mm film, which is also blown up for 70mm, as it has this grand look in terms of scale for the scenes not just set in outer space but also in some of the planets the characters are in. Some of it is shot in Iceland while scenes set on Earth are shot in Alberta, Canada as it plays into something that feels like a Midwest film that are shot very naturally while the scenes on these mysterious planets have something that feels very alien-like. The usage of wide shots with some crane cameras and other shooting styles add to the massive scope of the film that includes this sequence in these strange mountain-like locations where it adds to a sense of mystique about what might be out there.

Still, it is a film about a father and a daughter trying to reunite as the former is trying to find some kind of hope where it feels like a few years for him but it’s much longer than that on Earth. The complexity of the film’s narrative and sense of time is very prevalent which does add to some of the exposition that occurs on film though it does get overwhelming at times. Even in its third act where there is a sense of conventional drama that occurs as it does take away some of the unconventional aspects of the film that was working though there is a payoff that is satisfying which plays to the emotional crux of the film. Overall, Nolan creates a very rapturous yet evocative film about a man going to outer space to save his daughter and humanity in the hopes to find a new world.

Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography from the naturalistic look of the farmland locations in Canada to the array of lights and shading for much of the film‘s interior setting including the shots set in outer space. Editor Lee Smith does amazing work in creating some very straightforward cuts for the drama while going for unique rhythms in the space travels including the wormhole sequence along with some intense moments in the film. Production designer Nathan Crowley, with set decorator Gary Fettis and supervising art director Dean Wolcott, does excellent work with the design of the space ships Cooper and his team travel in as well as the robots they‘re accompanied with along with the NASA base that Professor Brand would work at.

Costume designer Mary Zophres does nice work with the costumes from the casual look of the characters on Earth to the design of the astronaut suits. Visual effects supervisor Paul Franklin does fantastic work with the visual effects for some of the scenes set in outer space to the movement of the robots plus some set-dressing for some of the planets. Sound editor Richard King does superb work with the sound to convey the sense of silence of exterior scenes in space as well as the sounds of rockets and some of the locations in its surroundings. The film’s music by Hans Zimmer is incredible for its mixture of soaring orchestral textures mixed in with minimalist electronic music to play into the sense of mystique that is prevalent in the film.

The casting by John Papisdera is phenomenal as it features some notable small roles from David Oyelowo as Murph’s school principal, William Devane as a NASA official, Matt Damon as a scientist who been part of an earlier mission, Topher Grace as a doctor friend of Murph, Leah Cairns as Tom’s wife, Liam Dickinson as Tom’s son Coop, Timothee Chalamet as the young Tom, and John Lithgow in a terrific role as Cooper’s father-in-law Donald who says some of the film’s funniest lines. Voice performances from Josh Stewart as CASE and Bill Irwin as TARS are excellent as they bring some soul to the machine as these robots that help the team in space with the latter being the most humorous. Casey Affleck is superb as Murph’s older brother Casey who also misses his father as he tries to cope with loss and saving the family farm.

Wes Bentley is wonderful as the geographer Doyle who tries to understand the wormholes and planets while David Gyasi is fantastic as the physicist Romilly who tries to understand the idea of space and time itself. Michael Caine is great as Professor Brand as a scientist who tries to prove a theory about how to save Earth as he copes with trying to do what is right as well as deal with the implications. In the roles of Murph, there’s Mackenzie Foy in a great performance as the young Murph who tries to cope with her father’s departure while Jessica Chastain is amazing as the older Murph as a woman filled with resentment as she tries to finish Professor Brand’s theory. In the brief role of the eldest Murph, Ellen Burstyn is brilliant in telling the story of what it was like in the dustbowl to explain the severity of the mission.

Anne Hathaway is incredible as Amelia Brand as a fellow astronaut who tries to keep things going while dealing with her own emotional baggage as tries to make sense of the stakes of the mission. Finally, there’s Matthew McConaughey in a magnificent performance as Cooper as this former pilot turned engineer who takes on a mission to space in the hopes that his family can survive beyond the dustbowl as he struggles with his own emotional baggage as well as the mission at hand.

Interstellar is a sensational film from Christopher Nolan. Armed with a great ensemble cast led by Matthew McConaughey as well as intriguing concepts about space, interstellar travel, and theories of relativity and time. It’s a film that is sci-fi at its most complex with some astonishing visuals that is backed up with a powerful story of a man trying to bring a future of hope for his children. In the end, Interstellar is a remarkable film from Christopher Nolan.

Christopher Nolan Films: Following - Memento - Insomnia - Batman Begins - The Prestige - The Dark Knight - Inception - The Dark Knight Rises - Dunkirk - Tenet - Oppenheimer - The Auteurs #13: Christopher Nolan

© thevoid99 2014

The Claim

Based on The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy, The Claim is the story about a young surveyor who comes across a town in California during the late 1860s figuring out where to put a railroad while its mayor deals with demons from the past as a woman and her daughter arrives to town. Directed by Michael Winterbottom and screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce, the film is an exploration into the world of the American West in the aftermath of the Gold Rush and the changing times that is to emerge with the arrival of the railroad. Starring Peter Mullan, Milla Jovovich, Nastassja Kinski, Sarah Polley, Shirley Henderson, and Wes Bentley. The Claim is a mesmerizing yet haunting film from Michael Winterbottom.

Arriving to the town of Kingdom Come is a young surveyor named Donald Dalglish (Wes Bentley) where he works for the Central Pacific Railroad company to find a site where he can put a railroad through California. Accompanied by a group of men who work for the company, Dalglish has to ask the town’s founder and mayor Daniel Dillon (Peter Mullan) for permission to survey the land as Dillon grants it as he’s hoping that a railroad through town can increase the business. Meanwhile at the same time, a woman named Elena Burn (Nastassja Kinski) and her daughter Hope (Sarah Polley) arrive asking for Dillon as Hope gives Dillon a cross where Dillon realizes who they are as he’s haunted by memories of how he got the gold in which he traded his wife and baby daughter for gold.

Hope befriends Dalglish as he continues to survey the land around Kingdom Come while Dillon hopes to meet the ailing Elena who is suffering from tuberculosis. While Dillon has a lover in the saloon/brothel owner in the Portuguese-born Lucia (Milla Jovovich), Dillon wants to be with Elena as he tries to give Lucia the deeds to the places she owns as well as some gold bricks but she refuses. Dillon marries Elena as hopes to help her beat her tuberculosis as he also gets to know Hope as her relationship with Dalglish blossoms. After some major setbacks and issues over the land, Dalglish makes the decision to leave town to move the route somewhere nearby and easier leaving Kingdom Come without a promising future. Things get worse for Dillon and the town that would force Dillon to do something in response to what is happening around him.

The film is essentially the story about a mayor who learns about a surveyor who is trying to find a path for a railroad in the hopes that it will bring a lot of things to the town. Yet, he is haunted by the arrival of an ailing woman and her daughter which forces him to confront his past when he first found gold and became rich that led to him finding a town where he became its mayor. Upon their arrival, the mayor hopes to redeem himself and do right for this woman as she’s ill from tuberculosis as well as her daughter. Yet, he faces complications from his lover who owns and runs a saloon and a brothel who is in love with him as well as changing times when it becomes clear that the land near might not be suitable enough to have a railroad nearby or right on his town.

Frank Cottrell Boyce’s screenplay is very multi-layered in the way he presents a world that is changing during the late 1860s just as the arrival of the railroad is happening around the American West. The character of Dalglish is a young man who works for a prestigious railroad company who wants to see where a railroad can be placed in northern California near Sacramento. He becomes the man that places the fate of the town to see if a railroad can help this small town be more well-known as a lot is already happening. At the center of this is a mayor who is hoping for the railroad to come to the town as he is dealing with how he became rich and is hoping to redeem himself to this woman he knew from his past. While it is obvious who this woman and her daughter are to this man based on the flashbacks but Boyce doesn’t dwell on exposition as he just lets the flashback tells the story.

For Daniel Dillon, the arrival of Elena and Hope Burns can give him the chance to not just find redemption but also do right for both of these women but he would alienate his current lover who is also in love with him. Lucia would definitely play part to not just Dillon’s downfall but in unexpected ways since things become more complicated in the third act when Dalglish makes his decision that would be uneasy for Dillon in what he would face. A showdown would occur but since this is not a conventional Western, the showdown would only serve little to what would happen in the third act.

Michael Winterbottom’s direction is definitely ambitious in terms of the world that he recreates though it is shot largely in Canada with some parts in Colorado. Since the story takes place in the winter and in a small town that is in the middle of the mountains. Winterbottom creates a film that is filled with lots of broad images where it takes place in this land as a young surveyor tries to see where to put the railroad and see if he can help this little town. The direction is also big in lots of ways that includes a very memorable scene of a house being pulled down a hill by men and horses. Still, Winterbottom maintains an air of intimacy with his close-ups and in the interior scenes to showcase a world that is thriving but also changing.

Notably as it is about the possibility of a greater future yet Daniel Dillon would face things that he is unprepared for that would make him deal with everything he had been through. Winterbottom’s use of the flashbacks only pop up once in a while though it would tell enough of what is needed without too much exposition. By the time the third act occurs, things definitely get grim where there are aspects of the Western but it’s not a conventional manner. It’s about a whole lot of things but also loss in a grand way. Overall, Winterbottom creates a truly majestic yet harrowing film about changing times and loss set in the American West.

Cinematographer Alwin H. Kuchler does brilliant work with the film‘s vast cinematography from the look of the exterior settings to the more evocative lighting schemes for the scenes at night as well as the use of candle lights in the nighttime interior scenes. Editor Trevor Waite does excellent work with editing to play up the intensity of the drama as well as using jump-cuts for certain scenes as it has an air of style throughout the film. Production designers Ken Rempel and Mark Tildesley, along with set decorator Paul Healey, do amazing work with the set pieces from the look of the saloons and homes in the town as they are very elaborate in their presentation to present a world of the American West.

Costume designer Joanna Hansen does superb work with the costumes from the ragged clothes the men wear to the more stylish dresses the women wear during that period. Sound editor Ian Wilson does wonderful work with the sound to capture the raucous atmosphere of the saloons to the harsh sounds of the cold winds. The film’s music by Michael Nyman is truly a highlight of the film as it’s a very low-key yet sweeping operatic orchestral score that plays up to the sense of drama and uncertainty that is prevalent throughout the film.

The casting by Kerry Barden, Wendy Brazington, Billy Hopkins, and Suzanne Smith is terrific for the ensemble that is created as it includes some notable small roles from Shirley Henderson as a prostitute named Annie, Julian Richings as one of Dalglish’s friends in Frank Bellanger, and Barry Ward as the young Dillon. Nastassja Kinski is excellent as the ailing Elena Burn who deals with her illness and her past with Dillon as she hopes that he does the right thing. Milla Jovovich is wonderful as Lucia who deals with the presence of Hope as she tries to hold on to Dillon while being intrigued by Dalglish’s arrival.

Wes Bentley is excellent as Donald Dalglish who deals with the fate he’s carrying as well as what is going on in the town where he would make some drastic decisions in his life. Sarah Polley is superb as Hope Burn who deals with her mother’s illness while falling for Dalglish as she sees a town going through changes. Finally, there’s Peter Mullan in a marvelous performance as Daniel Dillon who deals with his demons and a possible future while hoping to find redemption for his past sins in a world that is changing around him.

The Claim is a remarkable film from Michael Winterbottom and screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce. Featuring a great ensemble cast that includes Peter Mullan, Sarah Polley, Wes Bentley, Milla Jovovich, and Nastassja Kinski. It’s a film that definitely showcases a bit of realism into what was happening in the American West. Notably as it’s very different from most films about the West without delving too much into conventions. In the end, The Claim is an extraordinary film from Michael Winterbottom.

Michael Winterbottom Films: (Rosie the Great) - (Forget About Me) - (Under the Sun) - (Love Lies Bleeding) - (Family (1993 TV film)) - (Butterfly Kiss) - (Go Now) - (Jude) - Welcome to Sarajevo - I Want You - (With or Without You) - Wonderland (1999 film) - 24 Hour Party People - In This World - Code 46 - 9 Songs - Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story - The Road to Guantanamo - A Mighty Heart - Genova - The Shock Doctrine (2009 film) -The Killer Inside Me - The Trip (2010 film) - (Trishna) - (Everyday (2012 film)) - The Look of Love - (The Trip to Italy) - (The Face of an Angel)

© thevoid99 2012

The Hunger Games

Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games is the story about a post-apocalyptic world where a young girl volunteers, in place of her younger sister, to be part of a game where kids kill other kids in a televised contest. In the game, she has to survive while she would befriend one of her competitors. Directed by Gary Ross and script adaptation by Ross, Collins, and Billy Ray, the film is the first part of a trilogy of stories about a young girl who would eventually rebel against the games that would force her to kill various people. Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz, Wes Bentley, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones, Alexander Ludwig, Isabelle Furhman, Willow Shields, and Donald Sutherland. The Hunger Games is a sprawling yet chilling film from Gary Ross.

In the aftermath of an apocalyptic period that left parts of Panem in poverty and separated in 12 different districts. Children between the ages of 12 and 18 are selected to participate in a brutal game of survival where only one survives in game known as the Hunger Games. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is a young girl whose younger sister Primrose (Willow Shields) has just turned 12 as the selections of who will represent the district is ahead. Led by its representative Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), Primrose is selected until Katniss decides to volunteer while a teen named Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) is also selected to represent District 12. Sent to the lavish Capitol City, Katniss and Peeta meet their mentor Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson) who shows them what to do while Cinna (Lenny Kravitz) helps them get ready to be introduced for the world.

The game’s director Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley) meets with President Snow (Donald Sutherland) to discuss the upcoming games while Katniss and Peeta try to deal with the media attention where Haymitch helps them in doing what is to be said as they’re portrayed as star-crossed lovers. With Katinss being the odds on favorite despite the competition that is ahead, the Hunger games go underway. In the course of two weeks, many are immediately killed as Peeta reluctantly joins the sadistic Cato (Alexander Ludwig) in an alliance while Katniss tries to evade everything despite making a few friends along the way. Yet, she realizes what is going on as many watching where rules are eventually changed as she does everything she can to survive this game.

The film is the story of a young girl from a post-apocalyptic world who volunteers for her younger sister to be in the games. Unaware of how brutal the games are as well as what the powers that be are trying to do in order to make the game much more complicated. She does all that she can to survive but she becomes emotionally attached to those she starts to care about including her old friend Peeta who is the underdog in these games. Yet, it would be seen by these people who run the game as they hope to make a big event out of their relationship where emotions run high and things become complicated.

The story about the game itself where children have to kill children in order to survive definitely harkens back to the story Lord of the Flies. The screenplay that is created succeeds in exploring the circumstances these characters have to do. It’s not just in the game they’re playing but also make an impression for those watching on TV all over the country. Behind the scenes become much more complicated as the game’s director sees something that can get ratings but the actions of Katniss will end up threatening everything where even the country’s president starts to notice. A lot of its narrative is told from the perspective of Katniss Everdeen who is this young woman that is just trying to take care of her younger sister and mother in this poverty stricken town. She also has a boyfriend in Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) whom she also cares for. When she volunteers to spare her sister’s life from participating in these games where it’s very likely that she’ll die. She realizes that it’s not just training to survive that she must do.

Since it’s a media event, she has to be presentable to a public clamoring for people to root for. She may be the most skilled person in these games where she would make a grand impression on Crane. She is also the most troubled due to the emotional baggage that she’s carrying as her mentor Hamish is a former participant that remains haunted by his own participation as he tries to help her out as well as Peeta. Peeta may not be as interesting as Katniss as his only skills of survival is his strength and to hide via camouflage. He is aware of the dangers and the fact that he’s a long shot while he also has feelings for Katniss. Though the script does have a few flaws since there is a lot of exposition needed to be explained. It does succeed in creating an element of suspense and terror that occurs as well as creating a world that is truly surreal.

Gary Ross’ direction is pretty good for the way he creates this very different world through amazing wide shots for its locations, in North Carolina, as well as being in the center of the chaos that occurs in these games. He definitely knows how to build suspense in the scenes during the game where it’s all about the uncertainty of survival and what people will do to get ahead. Though a lot of the film in that section isn’t as plot-driven as the film’s first half, Ross does do enough to make it very engaging. Even in moments where he knows to slow things down so that some of the characters can catch a break and strategize.

While it’s among a lot of the highlights of the film that Ross does, the one part of the direction that doesn’t entirely work is the approach to shooting the film on hand-held cameras. In some parts of the dramatic moments of the film as well as the action scenes, the hand-held camera shots do become too shaky where it becomes confusing over what is happening. While it’s not as shaky as some of the current action films of the 2010s, it does become jarring at time where there’s a demand for the camera to remain still. Ross is able to create some amazing tracking shots and controlled camera work yet it’s the hand-held material that really falls flat for the film. Despite the flaws in the direction, Ross is able to succeed in making a solid and entertaining action-thriller.

Cinematographer Tom Stern does a nice job with the film‘s colorful yet lush cinematography from the naturalistic look of the forest scenes to the more extravagant lighting schemes for the capital city scenes. Editors Stephen Mirrione and Juliette Welfing, w/ additional work from Christopher S. Capp, do excellent work in the editing to play up the chaos of the Hunger Games while not delving too much into traditional fast-edits for the action scenes despite the shaky hand-held camera work. Production designer Philip Messina, along with set decorator Larry Dias and art director John Collins, do great work with the set pieces such as the design of the capitol city world as well as the interiors for the training room and penthouses the games‘ participants live in.

Costume designer Judianna Makovsky does an extraordinary job with the lavish costumes created for the film that includes the dresses that many of the female characters and participants wear for the interviews portion of the pre-game scenes. Makeup designer Ve Neill does brilliant work with the crazy look of Effie Trinket as well as some of the camouflage that Peeta wears. Visual effects supervisor Sheena Duggal does some very good work with some of the visual effects made such as the capital city exteriors, the game console room where creatures are created, and the fire that Katniss has to wear on her costume to make her first impression to the public.

Sound editor Lon Bender and sound designer William R. Dean do terrific work with the sound from the naturalistic environment of the Hunger Games location as well as the sound of cannons to signify a death in the game as well as raucous crowd sounds in the capitol city scenes. The film’s score by James Newton Howard wonderful for the bombastic orchestral pieces that is created in some of the film‘s tense moments, notably in the Hunger Games scene, while some of the music is mixed in with dabbles of folk and country courtesy of music supervisor T-Bone Burnett who also compiles a soundtrack ranging from folk to country to play the poverty-world that Katniss and Peeta lived in at District 12.

The casting by Debra Zane is superb for the ensemble that is created for the film as it includes notable small roles from Toby Jones as a Hunger Games reporter, Willow Shields as Katniss’ sister Primrose, Liam Hemsworth as Katniss’ friend Gale, Stanley Tucci as the games’ flamboyant emcee Caesar Flickerman, Lenny Kravitz as the sympathetic make-up artist Cinna, and Elizabeth Banks in a very lavish performance as games representative Effie Trinket. In the roles of some of the participants of the Hunger games, there’s standout performances from Amanda Stenberg as the young District 11 participant Rue, whom Katniss befriends, and Isabelle Fuhrman as the sadistic Clove. In the role of the vicious Cato, Alexander Ludwig is terrible in the part as he is very unconvincing in playing a smug, despicable character. Wes Bentley is excellent as the controlling Seneca Crane who tries to mastermind the game on his own terms.

Donald Sutherland is wonderful as the devious President Snow who tries to control everything around him including the games. Woody Harrelson is brilliant as the troubled mentor Haymitch Abernathy who tries to show Katniss and Peeta the ropes to survive while aiding them outside the confine of the games. Josh Hutcherson is good as Peeta who tries to deal with his odds as well as his feelings for Katniss though it’s not entirely remarkable as Hutcherson seems lost in his portrayal of the young kid who doesn’t have a lot of survival skills other than to hide and have physical strength. Finally, there’s Jennifer Lawrence in a marvelous performance as Katniss Everdeen as Lawrence brings a real sense of grit and determination to a character trying to survive as well as wonderment when she deals with the world she’s in. It’s a true star-making performance for the young actress as she makes Katniss Everdeen her own.

The Hunger Games is a stellar yet thrilling film from Gary Ross that features a mesmerizing performance from Jennifer Lawrence. While the film is flawed due to a few directorial decisions, it is still a very engaging story that explores a dystopian world where it’s all about survival that features a strong female protagonist. In the end, The Hunger Games is an enjoyable suspense-drama from Gary Ross.

Gary Ross Films: (Pleasantville) - (Seabiscuit) - (Free State of Jones) - Ocean's 8

The Hunger Games Films: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - (Mockingjay Pt. 1) - (Mockingjay Pt. 2)

© thevoid99 2012