Review: “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” evokes confusion

Margaret Korte
Entertainment Editor

“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is the well-made yet questionable prequel to the “Hunger Games” movies. It follows the story of Coriolanus Snow before his presidency in the original trilogy.

The prequel takes place 64 years before the original story, during the 10th Annual Hunger Games. Snow, played by Tom Blyth, is not yet the wealthy president, but instead an 18- year-old looking for prestige for himself and his family, namely a scholarship that isn’t easy to obtain.

Put in place by leaders Casca Highbottom, played by Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones”) and Dr. Volumnia Gaul, played by Viola Davis (“The Woman King”), each competitor for the scholarship is assigned a tribute, or a child participating in the Games, to mentor. The scholarship is awarded to the survivor’s mentor.

Snow is assigned Lucy Gray, played by Rachel Zegler (“West Side Story”), and he has to help her survive. Throughout the film, Gray insists on going by her full name, even correcting a character when he only calls her “Lucy” (because that’s definitely not her name), which can become repetitive quickly. This makes it feel more like a children’s book than a dystopian movie.

Snow’s main goal in the movie is to draw more viewers to the Games (which are broadcast on TV) to gain the respect he desires from his superiors.

This brings up a moral conflict of the story: If Snow succeeds, it results in the death of several children and the continuation of the Games as a whole, which will, of course, bring about more deaths—but he doesn’t care about that because he wants his scholarship.

This leads to some questionable decisions made by Snow, even in the beginning of the movie. It makes him hard to root for, as he does certain things with no regard for anyone but himself and those he loves. To ensure a win for Gray, Snow resorts to methods that injure more people than they help. (Making a movie about a character whose main thing is killing children was certainly a choice.)

Another interesting choice was to make “Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” a musical. Gray is a musician, which means several of her climactic scenes end with, begin with, or just are songs. These can each take several minutes, as well as having the potential to remove the viewer from the scene. The songs are addressed and aren’t unexplained but can still be confusing.

It’s especially jarring when the first one begins. In the film, her singing is what wins over viewers of the games, though it may have the opposite effect on actual theater-goers.

The characters are well developed, however, each having their own motives. The actors in this movie give it their all, and every emotion is palpable through the screen. By many accounts, the movie stays loyal to the book it’s based on and answers questions viewers might have after watching the original trilogy. It makes an impact, from the quickly-moving and emotional plot to the development of the characters.

Snow slowly turns into the tyrannical leader seen in the original films, which is a chilling yet exciting path to follow. Because it’s a prequel, the film can be enjoyed even by those who haven’t seen the original movies. “The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is in theaters and is rated PG-13 for violence and “disturbing material.” It has a run time of two hours and 35 minutes.

Feature Photo from Lionsgate Media Kit