The film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ novel, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” premiered in theaters on Nov. 17, 2023. The prequel to the original “The Hunger Games” trilogy delves into the backstory of President Coriolanus Snow, and District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird. Under director Francis Lawrence, the film is both a strong adaptation of the original 2020 novel and creative liberty.

Starring actor Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow, the film does a great job of showing a different side to the future President of Panem, who would later on become the main antagonist of the original trilogy. Throughout the course of the film, Snow would also become invested in his tribute, Lucy Gray Baird (played by actress Rachel Zegler), a free-spirited musician from District 12, . 

There is a charm to Lucy Gray, and initially the chemistry between the two has you rooting for the duo. The theme of the underdog’s triumph is heavy, as Snow does everything in his power to get the unlikely District 12 tribute to survive the 10th Hunger Games. As the story progresses onward, we see how Snow’s humanity is tested in his attempts to get Lucy Gray to win and his interactions outside of the Capitol’s reality. 

A surprising appearance would be actress Viola Davis (known for many film roles such as “Woman King” and “The Help”.) Davis portrays Dr. Volumnia Gaul, head gamemaker for the 10th Hunger Games and main antagonist in this film. Dr. Gaul’s film portrayal brings Davis’ ever present gravias to all of her roles, with this one being more villainous, more cruel, and more wicked than any of her previous ones. The cadence in which Davis delivers her lines, evokes a knowing, yet wicked mood, perfectly fitting for the almost humanity-lacking Dr. Gaul. It should be said, to keep the PG-13 rating, several details pertaining to Dr. Gaul in the novel, had to be omitted. 

One other character seen in the original apart from President Snow himself, is his cousin, Tigris Snow (played by “Euphoria” star, Hunter Schafer). Set 65 years before her appearance in “Mockingjay,” Tigris sports a drastically more human appearance. In this film, Tigris acts as a voice of sympathy and an insight on Snow’s previous life, where both he and Tigris were living in poverty. 

Another star appearance is Peter Dinklage (who played Tyrion Lannister, known for the HBO series “Game of Thrones”) as Casca Highbottom, inventor of the Hunger Games. He is an opposing character to Snow, but not quite in the villainous ways you’d initially come to expect.

The actors were not the only ones that made the entire film come together, the costuming also played an incredible part in characterizations. The costume team carefully constructed Lucy Gray’s iconic rainbow dress, taking the creative liberty to go against Collins’ strapless novel depiction, for a more real to life film adaptation. Lucy Gray’s corset also references the original trilogy, depicting the katniss plant alongside primroses. 

Dr. Gaul’s outfits were all very bright and colorful, almost the complete opposite of what you’d expect from a mad scientist. It really does give that eccentric-old-woman-look, along with tying into her quote, “I want my enemies to see a rainbow of destruction engulfing the world.”

Tigris’ costumes were all relatively straightforward, being conventionally fashionable prior to the Capitol’s more avant-garde fashion, and Tigris’ own modifications. The Academy’s uniforms took a more conservative approach from the costuming team, with Snow’s final outfit being a nod to his outfit 65 years later as Panem’s tyrannical president. 

The music perfectly encapsulated the relevant characters. The Appalachian folk songs sung by Lucy Gray depict the geographic locations of Collins’ Panem, in ways unlike the original movie trilogy. 

Artist Olivia Rodrigo was invited to compose a song for the movie, which would end up being titled, “Can’t Catch Me Now,” played in the post credits. Rodrigo’s songs depicts the themes of Lucy Gray’s character well, and is another addition to the “The Hunger Games” series’ celebrity songs such as Taylor Swift’s, “Safe and Sound, Coldplay’s “Catching Fire,” or Lorde’s cover of “Everybody Wants To Rule the World.”

Of course the film adaptation was not perfect. In its two hours and 38 minute runtime, various scenes were cut to keep the movie from being too long, which in turn killed some of the necessary character development, especially in regards to the tributes. Some characters’ storylines were changed such as Cleminisia Dovecote (played by Ashley Liao) and Wovey (played by Sofia Sanchez) and the more sinister aspects of the story as a whole were abandoned. While not a perfect depiction of the prequel book, nonetheless it is a respectable attempt for a nearly three hour movie.