The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

On November 17, 2023, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes hit the big screen with a bang. The movie is based on the novel written by Suzanne Collins in 2020 (see book review above). Directed by Francis Collins in collaboration with Lionsgate, the 157-minute movie had a budget of $100 million. Compared to the other four movies, this is the second lowest budget in the franchise. Although the movie was also the smallest opening weekend for the franchise, the movie still won the weekend taking in an estimated $98.5 million worldwide. 

As a huge fan of the original trilogy and the book, excitement was an understatement of how I felt to see this movie. Starring in the movie were Rachel Zegler (Lucy Gray Baird) and Tom Blyth (President Snow). After reading the books and seeing the trailers, I truly couldn’t wait to see what awaited me at the theatre.

First, I must talk about Rachel Zegler and her performance as Lucy Gray. As a book reader first, I have to say that it felt like Zegler absorbed each word that Collins wrote and put it into her performance. Lucy Gray is a fiercely independent woman with a strong sense of familial love and loyalty towards those she loves most. Her core values are the same as most of us. She honors love and truth over everything. Each movement, line, and reaction was completely up to par and in accordance with the Lucy Gray Baird that I read and came to know in the book. Not to mention Zegler's incredible singing voice. When reading the book, it was hard to get the full effect of her voice because it was coming off of paper. But in the film, Zegler is absolutely breathtaking. Her use of facial expressions, dynamics, and overall musicality always left the viewers wanting to hear more.

In order to bring her music off the pages and into the ears of her audience, Collins worked with Dave Cobb, a producer in Nashville, Tennessee. The piece that drew the two together was their love for history. Cobb found it intriguing that “everything in this film - everything she has written for Hunger Games - is derived from real history.” According to Billboard Music, the goal of the soundtrack was to create what felt like a timeless classic. Cobb took extreme measures to make sure that the album was as perfect as possible, including recording in an old mansion for better acoustics and using instruments from the 1930’s for the best result. Also included on the soundtrack was Olivia Rodrigo. Three-time Grammy Award winner, Rodrigo's song “Can’t Catch Me Now” was a smash hit. Fans loved this song, not only in relation to the new movie but they also related significant lyrics to the original movies to compare and contrast characters and their circumstances. The song appeared on two charts for two weeks peaking at #14 in Ireland.

Playing Young Snow is 28-year-old Tom Blyth. I must say that Blyth captured President Snow perfectly. The original books follow the internal thoughts of Snow, but the Hunger Games movies do not follow the narrator's internal perspective. As a viewer, I could see Snow’s inner thoughts and turmoil just from Blyth’s choices that he made as an actor. The movement of his eyes, the furrow of his brow, and the slight quiver of his lip showed me what was going through his mind. Although I do not particularly like President Snow, I loved his villain arc. As the story progresses, slight changes in body language and diction nod toward the building tensions. It was a very realistic example of a person molding to their given circumstances because they feel they have no other choice. Snow is a very complex and multifaceted character and Blyth did a great job of portraying this difficult role.

Although I only spotlighted two characters, the entire cast did an amazing job. Each character had distinct personalities and relationships with one another. Outside of the movie, actors and crew formed close relationships with each other. After the show premiered, actors took to their social media posting behind-the-scenes pictures and content of everybody having a great time. 

I 100% recommend this movie to any high school student. The movie not only is action-packed but follows a love story at its core. Everything that Collins writes, is a twisted reflection of our society as a whole. The underlying message of her works is up for interpretation and ever-changing as more people read and society changes and grows to the future. This is a great watch.