MOCKINGJAY, PART 1

“Drop oxygen to 17%. Hold your breath, it’s going to be a long night.”

                The above quote is paraphrased from the film, but it represents one of the reasons why the Mockingjay Part 1 suffered. The newest Hunger Games film is the victim of the newest trend of Hollywood studios’ desperate ploy to make money. Not only is the Hunger Games series an adaptation from the popular book series, but the final chapter of the trilogy has been divided into two films. What worked well for Harry Potter (the 7^th and final book being divided into two films), has not worked for any other film. Studios have tried it with the final chapters of book-adaptations-to-screen such as Twilight and The Hobbit, both butcheries in story-telling (The short adventure novel of The Hobbit has been ruined by being over-stretched and beefed up into three overly CGI’d unepic epics, and the foolish adolescent books of Twilight projected onto the screen in an equally horrible fashion). All of this is a bad gimmick, and I’m not the first [but hopefully the last] to beg Hollywood to stop. As I take a short examination at The Hunger Games series, and specifically reviewing the Mockingjay Part 1, I’ll explain the problems in this newest cinematic tactic and why it ruins the storytelling process.

Structure

There are three problems with splitting this third and final chapter into two parts. The first is structure. When it was [well] done for the Harry Potter series, it made sense for a few reasons. One, the last book was the longest of the series and this final chapter was far more complicated than the other books, as it tied up all the plot lines and introduced a new story (the Deathly Hallows) for the conclusion. Two, since the series was so long, an elongated finale was fitting. 

However, when you have a book trilogy (The Hunger Games), it is too short to elongate the finale without throwing off the balance of a good story structure. This is especially important for screenwriting, where unlike any other written art form, every single word is vital and has major repercussions (the only exception I can think of would be some forms of poetry). Imagine a puzzle with too many pieces or with one corner that spread out too far. Screenplays [and thus all their sequels compiled into a complete series] have a very precise structure, a story arc that has balanced ingredients at very specific time intervals. Act 1, Act 2, Act 3. For a 2-hr film, Act 1 is 30 minutes, Act 2 is divided into two 30 minutes, and Act 3 is 30 minutes [and often shorter than this as the final Act is meant to wrap everything up, and fast]. This structure can be manipulated depending on the overall length of the film, but the basic structure must remain, and we as people naturally sense when the story isn’t told in this fashion (imagine someone told you a joke where the punch line took three sentences to say rather than one). 

But this screenplay structure is reflected in the series structure as well. Now obviously the precise lengths of each film don’t match this formula in a series, but when you have a trilogy, the first chapter plays as The Set-Up (Act 1), the second as The Journey (Act 2), and the third as The Conclusion (Act 3). So if the Conclusion of the story is dramatically longer than the Set-up, we feel like something is wrong with how the story is told. Because there is. The last chapter should be shorter, not longer than the other chapters. 

Arguably, this problem can be solved by suggesting that Mockingjay Part 1 is the second part of Act 2 in the grand scheme of the series, especially since it contains the darkest hour of the story (the finale of the film; SPOILER: Peeta has been brainwashed into fearing Katiness and trying to kill her). I could let this slide if it weren’t for the second problem.

Pacing and Tone

The second problem is mood. I’ll describe this as two parts (ironically); pacing and tone. What made Catching Fire so great was the slow but steady escalation. Though Katiness was no longer in the Games arena, she was slowly realizing that she and Peeta were still a part of the political game (the deeper element of the Games that enslaved all the districts of Panem), and they were never getting off that “train”. As someone says, “the odds are never in our favor”. The dramatic suspense built as no matter what the two did, the Districts were growing increasingly restless with the façade, and the Capitol was bringing down the iron fist. This dramatic suspense built to the two being selected for the Games again, but this time the contestants were all previous winners, upping the stakes again, eventually boiling into action. Even the Hunger Games had this steady pacing and mood, though the sequel pulled it off much better.

So when Mockingjay Part 1 didn’t match this pacing, it fell short. Just as the tension of the film finally builds, we’re cut off. The basic plot of the story of the Mockingjay does actually match the pacing of the previous two stories, but when you split it down the middle, you get something entirely different.

Which leads us to tone. Mockingjay Part 1 was essentially a political drama. Not a sci-fi political adventure. Imagine watching a comedy series (like The Hangover), but the last movie is a tragedy film. Not what you paid to see, huh? Films can dabble in other genres, but they shouldn’t change genres. However, I’d argue that a film may go from, say, a dramatic mystery to a thriller in tone, but not the other way around. As the story progresses, the stakes must be raised. Like ascending a mountain to the top, the journey must escalate until the climax. You don’t want to fall down the mountain in slow motion, so to say.

I keep contrasting the Mockingjay Part 1 with Deathly Hallows Part 1, so how was the Harry Potter film able to take on a Drama-esque tone and Hunger Games wasn’t? One, it was well done. Two, it gave us a lot of intimate time with all the main characters, putting them to their breaking points. Three, each of the Harry Potter films (and books) were slower paced with more dramatic tones until their climatic ending when you finally got to see the villain you waited the whole story to see. Each book (and thus film) repeated the style. Some of the stories were more epic than others, and each director portrayed their own tone and style slightly differently, but they never lost the feel of the genre of Harry Potter, boy wizard trying to find his place in a larger, weirder world with hidden, looming threats. The content of each films of the Hunger Games series has remained on subject, so it isn’t the necessarily the tone, but how the tone is paced.

The ending of the Mockingjay Part 1 really should have been the Midpoint in the last film, because this is when the protagonist’s chosen goal for his/her journey becomes more complicated, and they have to readjust, often changing their goal to face the new obstacle. Katiness’ first goal of the final chapter? Become the Mockingjay, helping lead the rebels against the Capitol so that she can save Peeta. The Midpoint conflict: They save Peeta, only to find that the thing she loves most has been turned against her. What will she do? She has to readjust her goal.

Plot and Character

Which leads to the third problem with the division, which is how this pacing affects the plot and characters.

The plot is way too slow, and that has to do with the characters, specifically the protagonist. All of the characters are passive, locked in the bunker and occasionally let out for some air before being summoned back to the confines. The characters suffocate. They have so much time (which you’d think would be more opportunity to shine), but they don’t really have the room to do much. Especially Katiness. She doesn’t really do much. And neither does District 13. They stay hidden in their bunker, playing propaganda clips.

Even in the beginning, when Katiness is crippled by the fact that Peeta was left behind, Command decides she needs to be shown what happened to her District, then the very next scene she’s going with them. So Gale says he can’t believe she’s going along with this, we don’t see her make this decision, so she’s instantly reduced to a passive character. She’s playing a new game, now enslaved to District 13 instead of the Capitol. Which is, I’d say, some of the subtle commentary of the film, but this means that she’s just being dragged along for the ride. What made Katiness interesting in the other films was even though she was being forced into situations, she was reacting in unique ways that the Capitol didn’t want, which threw off the system. For films, your protagonist must be active, making their own decisions and taking action even if they are forced into situations. In the film, she doesn’t do much of this. The two exceptions I can think of are the most intense parts of the film. First when they are in District 8 when the bombings are happening and instead of going to the bunker she runs with Gale following to shoot down the bombers. Second when District 13 is being bombed and when she realizes her younger sister isn’t in the bunker, she runs out to get her, even though the bunker doors are sealing behind her. But otherwise, Katiness isn’t very active. Even in the climax of the film, she does nothing but watch the screens as the six-man squad (including Gale) infiltrate the Capitol to retrieve Peeta and the other captured tributes, and the only moment she does something is when she jumps on camera to address President Snow. That’s it. That is way too inactive for a protagonist in an adventure series.

How would you have solved this inactivity in your protagonist? Don’t split the final chapter into two parts. The last film could have been longer, but the characters would have been naturally more active because there would have been less time for them to sit around and do nothing. The story would move along much faster.

Successes

                Enough criticism. In what ways did the film succeed? To wrap this up, there are four things that stand out to me about the Mockingjay Part 1.

First, just after filming the propaganda video of Katiness in the studio, Command watches it, not impressed by how fake it feels (the CGI’d crowd and rubble behind them doesn’t help). Then Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) gets up, wiping the screen away and asking Command what were the things that had made them genuinely like Katiness, aside from all the facades. They list three moments, each moments that Katiness was unscripted. I found this a very interesting commentary [and an ironic yet unintentional insight into a flaw of the film].

In screenplays, there is a moment that we refer to as “save the cat” or “pet the dog.” It refers to the protagonist doing something unique early on that shows their character and essentially makes the audience emotionally side with them. Often films now-of-days miss this moment, and we preferably want several of these moments throughout the film. The Mockingjay Part 1 didn’t have many parts where we emotionally felt that there was anything unique about Katiness’ character (aside from the previous films), but there was a “save the cat” moment. It was when she returned home and brought home the cat. I chuckled to myself because she essentially literally saved the cat. Actually, all of the moments involving the cat were the most character-building and human moments of the film, and I’m not even an animal person.

Second, Gale. This is the first film we really get to hang out with his character and get to know him. We get to see why there is even a “Team Gale,” and why Katiness might like him other than his muscular body and good looks. We get to see Gale argue with Katiness about Peeta being a traitor, how he’d rather be tortured to death than do that, and then we see Gale describe what happened to their District and how he could only watch the citizens be burned alive. All of these make Gale interesting and complex.

Third, Gale’s insight into Katiness’ character. An intriguing moment is after Gale takes the camera crew on the tour of the burned District, when Katiness finds Gale in her abandoned mansion. He mentions that the kitchen was the room when she kissed him (in the second film after he was tortured), and she mentions she’s surprised that he remembered. She then kisses him, and he says he knew she was going to do this, which surprises her. Gale isn’t though, noting that the only way she pays him any attention is if he’s in pain. I thought this revelation was even more insightful to her character, because originally she was a very cold and closed-off character, and the moments that break her and make her emotional are when people are being hurt.

                Fourth, when the rebel film-maker crew are taking a break near a lake, Mockingjay birds fly around them, mimicking the whistles of one of the crew (who had his tongue removed by the Capitol). He then cheerfully signals to Katiness, asking her to sing. I found this concept intriguing, as she is the human representation of the Mockingjay. Jennifer Lawrence then goes on to sing “The Hanging Tree”. When the actress prepared for this moment, she allegedly was crying beforehand, as she was scared and hates singing in front of people. The melody, only her voice until the end, when the musical theme creeps in with many more voices chanting in, is a perfect representation of the film. It reflects the tone and pacing of the film, the lyrics beautiful reflect themes that Katiness deals with, and frankly I’d say it is one of the best elements of the film. Take a listen: 

                That’s my verdict. Share with me your thoughts. What did you think were the best and worst aspects of the Mockingjay Part 1?