In a new interview from this month’s SFX Magazine, THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY — PART 2 director Francis Lawrence talks war violence, themes, and movie ratings for the highly-anticipated final chapter. This segment from the interview hit the web just before the article’s release to newsstands on October 14.
“It’s much more epic,” says Lawrence.
He speaks to both the differences and similarities of Mockingjay — Part 2 in comparison to the other movies in the series. Lawrence says this movie is where all the themes converge:
“Visually it’s different because it’s a very different story,” shares Lawrence. “The last one takes place underground and Katniss is sidelined. There’s a lot less action and it’s dark and claustrophobic. This one’s very different. Very quickly we’re out of District 13 and in District 2. And we spend a lot of time in the Capitol. That gives a different foundation for visual choices that opens the film up in a much bigger way. It’s much more epic.
“I think it’s also much more similar tonally to the first two movies. The war in this movie is essentially an arena. There are definitely shared themes throughout the entire series. This is the movie where all of the themes coalesce. The last one was about propaganda and the media and the manipulation of imagery. Those aspects and the consequences of war and violence all come together here.”
Lawrence explains that one of the major themes is violence and its consequences, something tricky to handle when catering to the readers of the series:
“These books are targeted at teenagers. Part of the reason they appealed is that Suzanne didn’t flinch. And luckily people have embraced it. You also don’t want to flinch.
“But you don’t want to get an R rating and alienate all the teenagers that the books are meant for. My goal was not to focus on the carnage, on the bloodbath aspect of it, but on the emotional impact, the emotional consequences. We did the things that are in the book. It needs to have impact. That’s where you don’t want to flinch. You just don’t need to fetishise the blood, the carnage and the gore.”
How do you expect the final showdown will compare to the other three films?
You can read the whole interview here. Pick up a copy of SFX Magazine on October 14, 2015.