Are you coming to the tree?

This movie is Part 1 of the last book in the trilogy. It is the best, according to Larry. He liked it better than the second movie: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire. I liked all three Hunger Games movies, but I agree with Larry: this one has something special. The emotion portrayed is phenomenal. Jennifer Lawrence proves her acting prowess here for sure. In my mind, this series is where her career began. She has done other wonderful characters like Tiffany in Silver Linings Playbook, but Katniss Everdeen is by far the character she will become most famous for. She was wonderful in this movie.

It has been some time since I read all the books, so I didn't remember much of the story. I'm sure the Director, Francis Lawrence (I am Legend and Constantine), took some artistic license with the story, because I don't remember several of the scenes portrayed in the movie as being in the book. That fact didn't matter to me. I said to Larry as we were walking out of the theater, "I think that anyone, even if they haven't read the books or seen the other movies, could appreciate this movie in and of itself." It was that good. It was emotional, as I said, but also exciting, and suspenseful. It had great special effects and scenery. The devastation in District 12, for example, was amazing. Jennifer's acting really carried it.

Now, that said, I am not demeaning the subtle portrayal by Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne, who was both believable and relatable. Of course, Peeta Mellark played by Josh Hutcherson was also very good. I love an actor who can cry what looks like real tears. Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy and Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket were also very good. Julianne Moore as President Alma Coin of District 13 was also good. Philip Seymour Hoffman was his usual great character as Plutarch Heavensbee. There was a special memorial tribute to him in the credits, so I am assuming this was one if not the last role of his career. The acting throughout the movie was great. It is a VERY entertaining movie, and its two hours flew by. It ended in a very good place and set us up nicely for Part 2. I cannot wait for the last movie of the series. I know what happens, but that doesn't matter. I love seeing what Hollywood does with a story.

Ah, by far the biggest surprise of this movie was discovering that Jennifer Lawrence can SING! She sang "The Hanging Tree" anthem, and did a wonderful job of it. Her voice is a bit gritty, but right on note. I was very impressed. And, the movie's theme song by Lorde, Yellow Flicker Beat, was really, really good.

By all means, go see this movie! You will want to go read the books or see the other movies if you haven't imbibed in the series yet. It's not just for tweens. The premise insights my rebel self. I love that.

Oh, before I forget (and last but not by any means least), Donald Sutherland plays a great evil dictator as President Snow. Love the white rose motif. He has come so far from the movie, Mash, as Hawkeye Pearce. My oh my.

"The Hanging Tree"

This song was taught to Katniss Everdeen by her father, Mr. Everdeen, when she was young. Her mother, Mrs. Everdeen heard her singing the song and watched Prim making necklaces of rope to go with it with Katniss. Fearful, Mrs. Everdeen yelled at Mr. Everdeen, who told Katniss to forget the song lyrics. This caused Katniss to run into the meadow under a tree crying, and of course remembered every word of the song. After Mr. Everdeen's death, the song played itself over and over in Katniss's head. When she was younger she didn't know what it meant, but eventually she understood that the person singing the song was a dead man calling for his lover to come join him in death. Before her mother banned it, Katniss and Prim made rope necklaces like in the song. It meant that a life of torture must have not been worth living. At one point in revelation, Katniss really understands what this means, because she knows that being tortured by the Capitol is a much worse fate than death. Katniss sings this to Pollux after she plays with the mockingjays, which brought him to tears. This song is mentioned many times throughout Mockingjay. An official version has been recorded for Mockingjay Part 1.
Are you, Are you
Coming to the tree
Where they strung up a man they say murdered three
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree
Are you, Are you
Coming to the tree
Where the dead man called out for his love to flee
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree
Are you, Are you
Coming to the tree
Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.
Are you, Are you
Coming to the tree
Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me.
Strange things did happen here,
No stranger would it be,
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.