Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes looks back at the story of Coriolanus Snow, a woman tribute, and the machinations of the Capitol! Director Francis Lawrence continued the Hunger Games franchise with the second film, Catching Fire (2013), to its conclusion with Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015). The screenplay is by by Michael Arndt, who co-wrote Catching Fire, and Michael Lesslie, he adapted Macbeth (2015). The story was continued by author, Suzanne Collins with the 2020 prequel novel, set 64 years before Katniss Everdeen in Hunger Games (2008). I have read the Hunger Games books, but not this book. This was the story of Coriolanus Snow who was president in the first novel. He was played by Donald Sutherland in the films. The character’s first name refers to the Roman general in the 5th century who was also the subject of Shakespeare’s tragedy.
The film opens with snow falling on a desolate city, the dystopia of Panem. This is the events of the Districts rising against the Capitol. A young, five year old boy, Coriolanus (Dexter Sol Ansell), and girl, Tigris (Rosa Gotzler) take cover under a building. They confront a dog that growls at them and then see a man cutting into a body which Tigris explains that he is starving. Coriolanus takes them away to enter a house. He is told by Grandma’am (Finnoula Flanagan) that is father was killed by a rebel in a forest. Flangan played Catarine Towani in An Ewok Adventure (1984) and Eloise Hawking in the Lost tv series. She gives Cory his father’s compass. We see the image of the father in a stained glass window. This moves to Part I: The Mentor; there are three parts dividing the movie.
The older Coriolanus (Tom Blyth), now eighteen, is in a house that has lost any wealthy trappings. Blyth played the title role in the Western MGM+ series, Billy the Kid, and played Archie Baldwin in the drama, The Gilded Age. Grandma’am tells Coriolanus, “Let’s make him proud” and calls over Tigris (Hunter Schafer). Jules Vaughn is played by Schafer in Euphoria. Tigris appeared in Mockingjay - Part 2 played by Eugenie Bondurant. His cousin brings his shirt which she has cobbled together to be a dress shirt. Grandma'am places a white rose on his lapel, she has few roses left in her garden. He walks over to the Capitol with a building high statue of a woman with crossed swords. Coriolanus meets with fellow classmate, Clemensia Dovecote (Ashley Liao). The actress was Lola Wong in the comedy show, Fuller House and this year’s Paramount+ romance, Love in Taipei.
Coriolanus is the star pupil and they are headed to The Reaping; the ceremony before the tenth annual Hunger Games. He meets with the others including his friend Sejanus Plinth (Josh Andrés Rivera) whose father was wealthy enought to move them from District 2 to the Capitol. Rivera is in this year’s drama, Cat Person, and played Chino in West Side Story (2021). Dr. Volumnia Gaul (Viola Davis), the head gamemaker of the War Department takes the podium. Davis had the starring role in The Woman King (2022) and starred as Amanda Waller in The Suicide Squad (2021). Gaul revels in the games, she has distinctive black and white hair and brown and blue eyes.
She introduces the Dean of the Academy, Casca Highbottom (Peter Dinklage), the creator of the Hunger Games. Dinklage stars in this year’s rom com, She Came to Me, and is known for playing Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones. Casca is looking for them to be mentors, for the first time, to the tributes of the Hunger Games. He says they should make the tributes “spectacles not survivors.” They assigned to their tributes, one male and one female, and Coriolanus is given District 12, a coal mining district. His tribute is seen on a rounded screen, low tech like a classic television screen, so there is a progression into the sci fi of the later Hunger Games films. This is Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler). The part of Maria in West Side Story was the debut of Zegler who was also Anthea in this year’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
She wears a partially country girl dress and also fanciful with rainbow colors like a gypsy. Lucy Gray walks up, scooping up a tiny snake, and then dropping into the dress of a girl, Mayfair (Isobel Jesper Jones)! This is revenge for stealing her boyfriend, Billy Taupe, and also arranged for her to be tribute since she is the mayor’s daughter! Lucy Gray is struck by the rifle of a Peacekeeper, the armed soldiers of the Capitol, and the rest of the people start singing. She gets up and begins singing, “Nothing You Can Takes From Me.” Coriolanus watches her on screen. Zegler can of course sing and Lucy Gray is part of a band called the Covey. She drops the microphone, gives a defiant bow to the camera, and is taken away.
He brings up the money that will be awarded with the Plinth Prize for having a winning tribute. This award is given by Sejanus’ father. Casca says to Coriolanus, “Good luck with that songbird.” Later, Coriolanus asks how he can gain the trust of Lucy Gray, and Tigris tells him to put himself in her place. The train with the tributes arrives and Corolanus is there to meet Lucy Gray. The tributes are handcuffed, the later Hunger Games, we saw the tributes given luxurious treatments before entering the arena. He welcomes her to the Capitol and offers her the white rose. Lucy Gray tears off a petal to eat it! Peacekeepers lead the tributes away to the back of a truck. A tribute attempts to run away and Coriolanus slips into the truck. The tributes are angry at Coriolanus and Lucy Gray says he is her mentor.
All of them are dumped out onto a pile of rubble which happens to be inside the fences of the Capitol Zoo. This makes me think of the Twilight Zone episode, “People Are Alike All Over” (1960). It had Roddy McDowell as an astronaut finding he is examined by Martians in a zoo. Covering the arrival is Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman (Jason Schwartzman), television host, former weatherman and he likes also to mention magician. Schwartzman played Gideon Graves in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), also voices Gideon in the animated Scott Pilgrim Takes Off as well as starring in the recent comedy film, Quiz Lady. Schwartzman is hilarious and perfect as a parody of news hosts. There is a Caesar Flickerman during Katniss’ time who had been host of the Hunger Games for 40 years so they are connected, but Caesar was host 24 years after Lucky.
Lucky Flickerman presses Coriolanus about why he is with the tributes. Coriolanus responds that Lucy Gray invited him to meet the neighbors. Afterwards, he asks her to sing again, but she tells him to get some food. The tributes are not fed or treated well. One young tribute girl, Dill (Luna Steeples), has a cough from tuberculosis and may not survive the night let alone the Hunger Games. Casca says Coriolanus’ action was a violation of Academy rules. Gaul asks Coriolanus about the reason for the Hunger Games. He says it is to punish the Districts for the rebellion against the Capitol. The tributes are forced to enter the games. Coriolanus suggests that the Hunger Games should open citizens to place bets on the tributes and for them to get gifts that will help them. Gaul asks him to write up his proposal. At the lunch area, Sejanus sees Coriolanus sneak a half of a sandwich to his side.
At the zoo, Coriolanus offers the sandwich to Lucy Gray. She tries to get her fellow tribute from District 12, Jessup (Nick Benson), to also take a sandwich from Sejanus. The help from the mentors is disrupted by one mentor, Arachne (Lilly Cooper) who is cut by her tribute, Brandy (Luna Kuse). The Peacekeepers open fire and kill Brandy. The first death of a tribute, outside of the games, and a mentor reveals the danger of the situation. Grandma’m warns her grandson of his songbird. Coriolanus writes up his suggestion. He and his fellow mentor, Clemensia, are escorted to the laboratory of Gaul. Animal specimens are in tubes throughout the lab. Gaul questions them about the writing of the proposal. Clemensia cuts off Coriolanus. Gaul says the proposal was thrown into a massive terrarium of snakes and wants Clemenia to pull it out! The snakes will recognize if the writer of the paper. A snake lashes out to bite her and Clemensia falls dead.
Gall's next order is for the mentors and tributes to spend an hour discussing strategy. The Hunger Games arena is not high tech, it looks like a sports stadium, Coriolanus meets with Lucy Grey. She tells him that Peacekeepers had killed her mother. He says that his mother died in childbirth and that they are both orphans. Coriolanus wants Lucy Gray to sing in her interview. She says she will think about it if she gets a guitar. Then, there is an explosion that tears a part of the arena! Coriolanus asks for help. Lucy Gray is able to pry the rubble off of Coriolanus. When Coriolanus revives his family tells him about the rebel bombing. This is the first time we hear of the rebels working against the Capital. The relationship of between Coriolanus and Lucy Gray is complicated and may see her through the Hunger Games. Still, we are taken to his fall as Coriolanus survives this world, and becomes the dark figure we saw in the Hunger Games films and books! There is clever world building by Collins in the story. Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has the early life of Coriolanus Snow, mentor to Lucy Gray, a darker world than the Hunger Games!
Five White Roses out of Five!
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