Mockingjay = Excellent Film + Great Young Actresses
Film: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014). Young Actress: Willow Shields, age 13.
Remember how the third Harry Potter movie, 2004's Prisoner of Azkaban, kinda felt like Emma Watson's coming-out party? Sure, she was good in the first two movies, but the third one gave her more screentime, more depth, and more action. At the end of the film, her Hermione was the one who figured out how to save the day, and Harry mostly just followed her lead.
Mockingjay isn't on quite the same level for Willow, but it did give me the same impression that I was finally getting to see what this girl could really do as an actress. Like Emma, Willow gave decent performances in the first two movies of her franchise, but there just wasn't a whole lot of her. In both The Hunger Games (2012) and Catching Fire (2013), her Primrose stayed home in District 12 while big sister Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), the hero of the story, went to the Capitol to train for the games, then to the arena to fight them. But in Mockingjay, Prim and Katniss are living together in their new home in District 13, and Willow probably gets more screentime here than she did in the first two movies combined.
Prim with Katniss after a bad dream
In her first scene in the first movie, Prim wakes up crying from a nightmare, and Katniss holds her and comforts her. Later, she has to reassure her again, when Prim freaks out over having her finger pricked for a blood sample. So part of what makes their interaction in Mockingjay so interesting is that their roles have reversed; they're still as close as ever, but now Katniss is the one who can't sleep, and Prim is the one comforting her. In fact, in most of her scenes, Prim acts as a rock for her sister. When District 13 is bombed by the Capitol, Prim makes a detour on her way to the bomb shelter to rescue her cat. When Katniss yells at her for it, Prim doesn't cry or back down, like she would have in earlier movies. She yells back at Katniss that if her cat had died, "I couldn't live with myself!"
Prim and Katniss arguing after she arrives in the bomb shelter with her cat
And just like Prim has grown, so has Willow grown as an actress. Her performance here makes me think that she has a good chance of transitioning into a successful adult actress, after these movies are over. (Again, Emma Watson did this, but not many others. Georgie Henley has kept acting since Chronicles of Narnia wrapped, but in what? In movies like Perfect Sisters.)
On a more shallow note, I want to say that I really appreciated Willow's look as Prim. It's so typical of Hollywood to make all their actresses look pretty and glamorous, even when their characters are living in dire circumstances. But this movie didn't follow that route with Prim at all. The nurse uniform that Prim wears in most of her scenes is dowdy and not very flattering, and the makeup department didn't even pluck Willow's eyebrows. After seeing so many young actresses primped and glammed up for red-carpet events, it's refreshing to see Willow look so real and natural here.
Prim's final scene (at least until Mockingjay - Part 2)
As for the movie as a whole - the districts are now in full revolt against the Capitol, and the film delivers an impressive, well-executed look at the harsh grittiness of war. The pacing does drag near the end, a consequence of splitting the book into two movies. (Harry Potter started this trend, but it had a good reason. Since then, every young-adult franchise has been following suite; the most laughable case was the last two Twilight movies.) By this point, the Hunger Games franchise has gotten so popular that it assumes all viewers have seen the first two movies, and it explains almost nothing of the backstory. So if you haven't seen the previous movies, you might be confused, but the excellent performances from Willow and Jennifer make it worth watching anyway. Just don't watch this movie for Jena Malone, who's onscreen for only a few seconds near the end.
LINKS
Mockingjay 1 premiere.
Mockingjay 2 review and premiere.
AWARDS
Critics Choice Awards: nominated for Best Actress in an Action Movie (Jennifer).
Kids Choice Awards: won Favorite Movie and Favorite Female Action Star (Jennifer).
MTV Movie Awards: won Best Musical Moment (Jennifer) and nominated for Movie of the Year, Best Hero (Katniss), and Best Female Performance (Jennifer).
Teen Choice Awards: won Choice Movie: Sci-Fi/Fantasy and Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy (Jennifer); nominated for Choice Movie Liplock (Jennifer and Liam Hemsworth).
Remember how the third Harry Potter movie, 2004's Prisoner of Azkaban, kinda felt like Emma Watson's coming-out party? Sure, she was good in the first two movies, but the third one gave her more screentime, more depth, and more action. At the end of the film, her Hermione was the one who figured out how to save the day, and Harry mostly just followed her lead.
Mockingjay isn't on quite the same level for Willow, but it did give me the same impression that I was finally getting to see what this girl could really do as an actress. Like Emma, Willow gave decent performances in the first two movies of her franchise, but there just wasn't a whole lot of her. In both The Hunger Games (2012) and Catching Fire (2013), her Primrose stayed home in District 12 while big sister Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), the hero of the story, went to the Capitol to train for the games, then to the arena to fight them. But in Mockingjay, Prim and Katniss are living together in their new home in District 13, and Willow probably gets more screentime here than she did in the first two movies combined.
Prim with Katniss after a bad dream
In her first scene in the first movie, Prim wakes up crying from a nightmare, and Katniss holds her and comforts her. Later, she has to reassure her again, when Prim freaks out over having her finger pricked for a blood sample. So part of what makes their interaction in Mockingjay so interesting is that their roles have reversed; they're still as close as ever, but now Katniss is the one who can't sleep, and Prim is the one comforting her. In fact, in most of her scenes, Prim acts as a rock for her sister. When District 13 is bombed by the Capitol, Prim makes a detour on her way to the bomb shelter to rescue her cat. When Katniss yells at her for it, Prim doesn't cry or back down, like she would have in earlier movies. She yells back at Katniss that if her cat had died, "I couldn't live with myself!"
Prim and Katniss arguing after she arrives in the bomb shelter with her cat
And just like Prim has grown, so has Willow grown as an actress. Her performance here makes me think that she has a good chance of transitioning into a successful adult actress, after these movies are over. (Again, Emma Watson did this, but not many others. Georgie Henley has kept acting since Chronicles of Narnia wrapped, but in what? In movies like Perfect Sisters.)
On a more shallow note, I want to say that I really appreciated Willow's look as Prim. It's so typical of Hollywood to make all their actresses look pretty and glamorous, even when their characters are living in dire circumstances. But this movie didn't follow that route with Prim at all. The nurse uniform that Prim wears in most of her scenes is dowdy and not very flattering, and the makeup department didn't even pluck Willow's eyebrows. After seeing so many young actresses primped and glammed up for red-carpet events, it's refreshing to see Willow look so real and natural here.
Prim's final scene (at least until Mockingjay - Part 2)
As for the movie as a whole - the districts are now in full revolt against the Capitol, and the film delivers an impressive, well-executed look at the harsh grittiness of war. The pacing does drag near the end, a consequence of splitting the book into two movies. (Harry Potter started this trend, but it had a good reason. Since then, every young-adult franchise has been following suite; the most laughable case was the last two Twilight movies.) By this point, the Hunger Games franchise has gotten so popular that it assumes all viewers have seen the first two movies, and it explains almost nothing of the backstory. So if you haven't seen the previous movies, you might be confused, but the excellent performances from Willow and Jennifer make it worth watching anyway. Just don't watch this movie for Jena Malone, who's onscreen for only a few seconds near the end.
LINKS
Mockingjay 1 premiere.
Mockingjay 2 review and premiere.
AWARDS
Critics Choice Awards: nominated for Best Actress in an Action Movie (Jennifer).
Kids Choice Awards: won Favorite Movie and Favorite Female Action Star (Jennifer).
MTV Movie Awards: won Best Musical Moment (Jennifer) and nominated for Movie of the Year, Best Hero (Katniss), and Best Female Performance (Jennifer).
Teen Choice Awards: won Choice Movie: Sci-Fi/Fantasy and Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy (Jennifer); nominated for Choice Movie Liplock (Jennifer and Liam Hemsworth).