If next January comes around and brings no Oscar nominations for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 then it will have the unenviable tally of zero nominations from four films. Only The Twilight Saga, Mission: Impossible and Fast and the Furious franchises can claim such a strike rate. There was a time when every film that made over $200 at the American box-office could claim at least one nomination - even Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me! But since Mission: Impossible II in 2000, that has no longer been the case. Still, for Lionsgate’s hugely successful Hunger Games to bow out with nary a single nomination to its name is genuinely surprising.
What’s more, these films are hardly wanting for acclaim and nomination-worthy elements. Salute (or click) for more!
Certainly it's not a record that stacks up when looking at the reception of all the films, which have all been critically well received as well as box office behemoths. So let’s look at the franchise through this lens and paint a picture of why these films have been so good.
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Best Costume Design
If the Hunger Games franchise was to ever strike Oscar gold in its history then I would have assumed it would be here. Indeed, it’s a little bit perplexing that it never did given the wonderful designs that each film has had, and highlighted. Judianna Makvosky was CDG-nominated for her work on the original, while Trish Summerville rightfully won that same award a year later for the sequel, Catching Fire. The franchise was nominated by the CDG once more with Kurt and Bart taking over for Mockingjay’s first part last year. With their mix of flamboyant and colourful Capitol formal attire, sleek body-hugging hunger game-wear and even entire sequences devoted to showcasing the design and reveal of Katniss’ gowns, this is the franchise’s most disappointing miss.
The final instalment doesn’t disappoint in this regard, although it doesn't get the sort of show-stopping moment like in the first two films. Part 2 allows audiences the chance to return to the Capital and marvel at Kurt and Bart's mix of the military garb of both the villains (tiled Startrooper inspired designs) and the heroes (dark-hued jumpsuits) are distinct, as are the refined silver and grey designs worn by Julianne Moore’s President Coin that more than amply suggests her true political leanings are decidedly Mao-esque. What I didn’t expect was the powerful imagery that the film conjures when it brings thousands of evacuated Capitol refugees out of their homes for the first time and we see them marching towards Snow’s palace in their furs and tailored coats. It’s not at all an accident that the scenes echo famous moments in history. For all of these reasons, plus the sweet yellow sundress of the final scene, Mockingjay’s part two would make a worthy franchise-capper nomination.
Best Production Design
The last film’s greatest asset is its production design, but then the franchise has always had interesting sets. The diverse worlds of the individual districts was more widely shown to us in Mockingjay Part 1, but Gary Ross was wise to use production design to so richly get us into District 12’s gloomy, downtrodden life in the tone-setting first film. And in Catching Fire, the new arena was a wonder of design wherein you could sense the filmmakers having fun bringing the text to life.
The second part of Mockingjay brings us a war-torn country that, yet again, conjures up mental images of ravaged lands we’ve seen in photos from the past and on the news in our present. The crumbling cities of the Capitol look so much like Berlin post-WWII that it takes a giant oil slick to knock us out of the headspace of what we’re seeing. My favourite extended sequence was one in which our heroes go underground through a series of tunnels that symbolize the decay upon which President Snow’s existence is built upon and emerge in what could be mistaken for a New York City subway. This film allowed us to see more of the Penam world while expanding upon those parts we had already known. The production design of each film has been curiously ignored by the ADG, but could its heavier focus on urban spaces give it a leg up this year? I hope so. If at least for Phillip Messina who has done the production design for all four Hunger Games movies and the words of Steven Soderbergh between 2000 and 2008.
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
How did Effie Trinket not ring the bell of Oscar’s make-up and hair department? The wig-work alone! The Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Styling Guild have honoured parts two and three with nominations, but in 2012 they didn’t have a ceremony so I think it’s fair to assume three-time Oscar winner Ve Neill would have been nominated then, too.
Perhaps Oscar felt the really obvious makeup work was reserved for just one character? Doubtful. They’re obviously just more impressed by fat-suits and prosthetic works like those in Hitchcock and Barney’s Version. If Mockingjay Part 2 can eke out a surprise here, then you can thank those close-ups in Effie’s final scene that highlight the extravagant fake eyelashes, Japanese-inspired makeup and swooping powder-purple wig that Elizabeth Banks adorns herself with. Given how little Banks is in the film, though, and with the most attention paid to Moore's extended bob it would have to be considered unlikely.
Music
It’s surprisingly hard these days to think of a truly memorable piece of action movie theme music, isn’t it? So kudos to James Newton Howard for not only crafting a theme that plays well in film and out – the wait for my screening of the movie two nights ago was soundtracked for a full 30 minutes by it, so trust me on that – as well as the familiar mockingjay whistle, both of which have played through the franchise.
Elsewhere, it wasn’t just the Golden Globes who were fans of the franchise’s songs. Songs by T-Bone Burnett (“Abraham’s Daughter”), Taylor Swift (“Safe and Sound”), Coldplay (“Atlas”) and Lorde (“Yellow Flicker Beat”) have all found praise and nominations from organisations like the Grammys, the BFCA, the OFTA, and a smattering of critics groups. That none made it to Oscar’s stage isn’t that surprising considering their hot-and-cold stance on big pop tunes, and I don’t recall there being an original song somewhere in this one but maybe I wasn’t paying close enough attention. News on the soundtrack seems scarce.
Visual Effects
The CGI has never been the strongest element of these Games. Alas, we are genuinely predicting Jurassic World as a visual effects nominee this year based almost entirely on the fact that it’s a box office megastar. It can’t be because of the actual work considering the effects of Jurassic World are the most appalling waste of money and should be shamed out of a nomination.
Acting
It’s fair to say that Jennifer Lawrence has been amply rewarded by the Academy for her first 25 years of acting. That being said, it’s a mark of her talent that she was able to take a YA adaptation and make it so deeply personal and grounded. The scripts didn’t always give her a lot to do except to give speeches, but unlike other stars who get granted a big-budget franchise she took it all entirely seriously and continued to deliver from film to film. Watching all four back-to-back and the evolution of her character is seen entirely thanks to Lawrence.
If you want to give the final movie an acting nod, however, you wouldn’t look much further than Donald Sutherland. That great actor who’s never been nominated before won’t be in the conversation – nor should he be, really, but we're indulging – but his third act monologue and the self-satisfied look he gives in his final scene is the sign of an actor who is relishing what he’s been given at this late stage of his career. I suspect he’s made a few new fans who will now watch an older film because of him. That, I suppose, is the biggest win he can hope for.
Are you seeing Mockingjay Part 2 this weekend? Has the franchise deserved a bit of love from the Academy?