“The Hunger Games,” a popular film and book series consisting of four movies released from 2012-2015, welcomed a new addition to the series, “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.” This movie focuses on the 10th Hunger Game, which takes audiences almost 64 years back from the original film which focuses on the 74th Hunger Games. Released November 17th, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” has been quite a hit, maintaining a top spot in the box office since its release, which I must say is well deserved. It tells the story of young President Coriolanus Snow and his step to becoming the tyrannical president he is in the original movie, as well as telling the story of his relationship with the unforgettable Lucy Gray Baird.
Coriolanus Snow is played by British actor Tom Blyth who can also be seen in other well known movies such as “Benediction” or shows such “Billy The Kid.” His co-star, Rachel Zegler, plays the role of Lucy Gray Baird. Zegler has played lead roles in a few popular movies in the past few years, such as “West Side Story” and “Shazam,” and will be portraying Snow White in the upcoming live action movie. Other cast members include Hunter Schaffer from the well known HBO show, “Euphoria,” who plays Tigris Snow, Coriolanus’s cousin. It is safe to say, the filmmakers did a spectacular job with casting; every actor and actress portrayed their roles accurately with passion.
Given that the movie focuses on young Coriolanus Snow, otherwise known as President Snow, audiences are introduced to his attraction to power and his lifestyle growing up in a post war society. Snow is portrayed as a smart 18 year old man with high morals living with his grandmother and cousin, Tigris, whom he is very close with in Panem. Snow can be seen struggling to keep his fading family lineage alive as an orphan.
Things change quite quickly as the 10th Hunger Game approaches and Snow is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird. Lucy Gray and Snow are worlds apart, she is from the districts, district 12, and therefore less privileged. She is a stubborn young girl with love for music,colors and most importantly, freedom. Lucy didn’t have great relations with the people in her district resulting in the reaping being rigged and her becoming a tribute. Now Snow must help this young girl fight in the arena and survive. In doing so, the pair develop strong feelings for each other. Feelings that could be fatal to both their lives. With their love for one another, they must battle against time and the capitol to reveal who is the songbird and who is the snake.
“They aren’t really fighting with the capitol to be together rather Snow’s strong desire for power and Lucy’s strong desire for freedom and the trust that lies in between,” said sophomore Davia Hernandez, a sophomore at RV of the love between Lucy and Snow.
It is unsure as to what year the 10th hunger games took place as it is a dystopian world. All we know is that it was post war, a war that changed the dynamic of the world. The way certain elements were shown such as technology and especially the way people dressed, it could be compared to the 1960’s or 1970’s style. Fashion wise it is best to focus on Lucy Gray who can be seen in vibrant colors. Her reaping dress for instance caught the attention of the audience . The other actors in the movie (or at least Lucy’s district) can be seen wearing dull colors such as gray or black or blue. However, Lucy’s dress emphasized the vibrance of her soul and went back to the origins of her people, the Coveys. She wears this dress throughout the games.
After the games had taken place, she is once again seen in the pub where Coriolanus and her reunite. In this scene she is wearing a gorgeous black embroidered top with almost a burgundy/magenta skirt along with statement jewelry and pendants in her hair. My personal favorite outfit was her blue blouse and skirt she had worn in the meadow when talking to Coriolanus.
Another important character who can be seen in statement pieces is Tigris Snow. In fact, she goes on to become a stylist for the tributes in the original films. Tigris, unlike Lucy, is dressed in soft colors such as pink and with feathers in her hair. Her blush and natural makeup also helps pull her outfits together. Both characters were dressed by Trish Summerville and Sarah Tooley, the stylists on set.
I must say, the sound track of “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is quite addictive. Lucy Gray’s character is often heard singing as it is a crucial part of her identity and her people. Lucy is first heard singing after she is called during the repeating during when she put a snake in the mayor’s daughter’s dress. It can be inferred that the reaping was rigged so Lucy could be picked. It would all tie into the lyrics of “Nothing You Can Take From Me” which is what Lucy sang and the first thing Coriolanus heard from her. Throughout the movie she sings many other great songs such as “The Ballad of Lucy Gray Barid,”“Pure as Driven Snow” (which she wrote for Snow) and the recurring song throughout the series, “The Hanging Tree.” “The Hanging Tree” was initially written and sung by Lucy Gray and then sung by Katniss Everdeen decades later. Rachel Zegler, aside from being an amazing actress, happens to be a talented singer. She sang all of these songs herself with her own twist and live on set. Olivia Rodrigo, a prospering pop artist known by many, contributed to this sound track with her song “Can’t Catch Me Now,” which was written specifically for the movie. Olivia’s song was played during the credits in the end of the movie. My favorite song on the soundtrack would have to be “The Ballad of Lucy Gray Barid.” It had a particular softness to it and lyrics with significant depth. Zegler’s version was a bit different than the original as far as the melodies went, however I do prefer Zegler’s version.
“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” truly stole my heart with the mesmerizing cinematography and compelling plot. The foreshadowing and references to the original films brought audiences to an almost full circle moment as we saw how things tied together. The suspense and tragedy had everyone or at least myself on the edge of our seats. It was clearly a well thought out story executed perfectly. The movie included insightful messages on power, love and obsession. The mysterious ending with an overview of the capitol and soon to be President Snow, brought the movie to a perfect ending.The Ballad of Songbirds and Snaked truly is a masterpiece with a beautiful yet mysterious story that is worth the watch. Do not miss it while it’s still on the big screen.
