‘Mockingjay’ soars above expectations

A common trend in the film industry is to convert novels into films and unfortunately, many of these conversions are nowhere near as good as the original work. Luckily, “Mockingjay Part 1” is definitely not one of those films. In a culmination of directing, acting and screenwriting brilliance, “Mockingjay” is able to captivate its audience and truly send them to the dystopian land of Panem.

With a surprisingly short list of credentials, “Mockingjay’s” director, Francis Lawrence, could easily be overlooked, but after watching the film, it is clear that his talent far surpasses his history in film. Lawrence infuses his directing style, which utilizes major points of juxtaposition throughout the film, but one of the most notable moments occurred within one of the very first scenes.

As the movie’s heroine and physical embodiment of the revolution, Katniss Everdeen, sits in a plane on her way to see her destroyed district, the sound of the ship’s deafening engines resonates throughout the theater, but once the plane lands and leaves her alone in the ruin, there is only silence. Lawrence opts to shock the audience with the absence of any soundtrack at this point and forces them to understand the depth of this silence. The moment remains memorable because it causes one to think about what that moment means instead of just watching a plot unfold.

By incorporating an array of scenes similar to the one above that feature both Lawrence’s style of contrast in sound and lighting as well as his artful execution of the style throughout the movie, Lawrence allows the audience to truly feel the film, rather than only watch it.

Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence aids in the director’s vision by once again portraying the interesting and dynamic character of Katniss Everdeen. Jennifer’s performance in “Mockingjay” served as a reminder of her immense talent as she depicted a vast assortment of raw emotion while her character was at her weakest point and also while at her strongest.

Not only did Jennifer shine, but so did her supporting actors. With seasoned actors such as Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Woody Harrelson cast alongside Jennifer, there is no question why the acting was so immaculate.

While the director and actors were more than exceptional, it would be difficult to praise just them. A major part of the film’s success lies in its impressive adaptation from book to screenplay.

As a fan of the “Hunger Games” book series, I expected to be disappointed by something left out or misrepresented in film, but I did not once during the film question whether or not a moment had occurred in the book.

While the film is phenomenal, the run time (2:30) is relatively long for a part-one installment of a two-part movie. The point at which the film actually ended set up the beginning of the next film very well, but the last 20 minutes featured several points where the film could have ended earlier and achieved the same goal.

It felt as if there were numerous places towards the end where moments seemed to build to culminate in the ending, but the film would continue. It almost felt as if it was trying too hard to keep the audience on its toes.

Bottom line: “Mockingjay” lives up to the books as well as the hype; it is not only an interesting movie, but also a work of art regardless of its run time.