Hunger for Power - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (TBOSAS)
The biting winter cold. Dark snow flurries. Utter ruin. From the opening scene of TBOSAS, viewers are taken along Coriolanus Snow’s perilous quest for power, filled with deception and the bitter taste of broken promises. For months, I have awaited with bated breath, the release of the movie that would explain Snow’s origin story. Now, I can say with certainty that TBOSAS does in fact pay appropriate homage to Suzanne Collins’ original novel. But just what makes this tale so compelling?
The answer may lie in our morbid interest for all things bloody and gory. The sequence of events has a certain tantalizing appeal, despite its appalling nature. Lucy Gray’s charm, coupled with her mesmerizing voice effortlessly draws in not just Snow, but also the viewers. Her belief in natural goodness built within us contrasts starkly with Dr. Gaul’s chilling conviction that humans contain an inherent inclination towards savagery. With her blood-soaked dress and red latex gloves, Dr. Gaul is the antithesis of Lucy Gray and her rainbow dress.
At its core, this movie is about Coriolanus Snow’s character development, a stunning depiction of someone willing to give up anything and everything for his chance at glory. Every depraved monster usually has a tragic past; and Snow, an orphaned boy who barely survived starvation, is no different. Yet despite all the opportunities laid before him, Snow ultimately embraces the path devoid of any redemption. Choice after choice is calculated with eerie precision. Even his purported love for Lucy Gray eventually reveals itself as his desire for control; though his true manipulative character is shown by his betrayal of his ‘friend’ Sejanus Plinth.
The character of Lucy Gray is what brings this story to life. Set 64 years before the time of Katniss Everdeen, Gray is a poetic nod to Everdeen’s revolutionary nature when facing systems of oppression. By connecting the present to the future, Lucy Gray humanizes Snow but does not make excuses for him.
Other characters also infuse this movie with the emotion that is characteristic to the past trilogy, ranging from the flamboyant portrayal of Lucretius Flickerman, showcasing the depravity of the games, to the representation of the tortured Casca Highbottom, an unwilling participant in the capitol’s brutality. In particular, Tigris Snow’s quote, ‘I think you look just like your father, Coriolanus,’ at the end of the film leaves the viewers feeling a weighted heaviness, a certain melancholy residue.
In the end, none of these characters are exempt from Snow’s ambition, regardless of the consequences. Thus, the viewers are left grappling with this unsettling question: To what lengths would you go for power? For Coriolanus Snow, whose ambition knows no bounds, the answer is just about anything.
