MovieChat Forums > The Hunger Games (2012) Discussion > Jennifer Lawrence was miscast.

Jennifer Lawrence was miscast.

posted 7 years ago by Otter (24464)
19 replies | jump to latest

Lawrence can be very good, but she's at her best playing open, energetic, even mouthy characters, while Katniss Everdeen is quiet and never shows her feelings if she can help it. Some actors can keep quiet and let the camera read their feelings in their eyes (like Sophie Turner on "Game of "Thrones"), but Lawrence doesn't do that in these films. instead, she comes across as tough, but kind of lifeless, as we can't see Katniss's inner life in her face or eyes.

I don't know who would have been better in the role, the only actress of the right age I can think of who might be better is Shailene Woodley, who has an expressive face and melting eyes and who had to settle for the inferior "Divergent" series. She's also a big strong gal who'd be convincing as a competitor, she might have worked.

[–] MagneticMonopole (286) 7 years ago

No, she was nearly perfect in the part, as attested to by the author of the books herself, Suzanne Collins.

[–] Otter (24464) 7 years ago

it's just possible that Collins wanted to promote the film for personal or financial reasons, and might not have shared all her feelings about the finished films with the public. Because even if she didn't get any more money for a hit film than for a flop, if the film was a hit she'd have an increase in book sales and that would mean some bucks for her. And that's why most authors say nice things about even the worst film adaptation of their work, they don't want to drive anyone away.

Not that i'm saying the film sucked or that Collins thought so, but I am saying that a quote from Collins doesn't change my mind.

[–] MagneticMonopole (286) 7 years ago

Collins was consulted closely throughout the entire process of making the film, had total veto power over anything she didn't like (which she used) and saw all of the auditions, which you did not. Given this, there is absolutely no reason to doubt her sincerity in praising the choice of Lawrence to play Katniss. If she had not been enthusiastically on board with the casting or preferred someone else, she would have prevented Lawrence from getting the role. It is as simple as that.

If you look at reviews of the movies, it is pretty clear you are in the minority on this, even on the specific point you made about Lawrence not being to emote without words, a skill I've seen her praised for in this role.

[–] R_Kane (15828) 6 years ago

Well, then, that settles it, because we all know that the majority are always right.

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

[deleted]

[–] TexasJack (12516) 6 years ago

I thought playing up the character's stoicism was a reasonable choice given the world she inhabits. It's a very tough life where people have become accustomed to the horrible things that happen. That would tend to dull emotions.

[–] Otter (24464) 6 years ago

The problem is that Lawrence doesn't do stoicism *well*. She's at her best playing open, forthright, even mouthy characters, when she plays quiet and stoic she doesn't really register and you can't tell what's going on in her head.

For an example of someone who plays stoicism well, look at Sophie Turner on "Game of Thrones". Her character has been through all kinds of hell and maintains her expressionless ladylike veneer at almost all times, she can go entire seasons without letting the other characters know what she's thinking and feeling... yet the audience knows. We viewers can look at this girl who's keeping a poker face and know exactly what's going on her in her mind. I don't know how Turner does it, and BTW Turner is several years younger than Lawrence, so whatever she's doing, it's not a matter of experience and training.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

She was also too fat. :D

[–] aavfreak (3365) 3 years ago

This is a valid criticism. They were all supposed to be starving and chronically underfed in District 12. Imagine a teenager that hasn't had a full meal all her life and is on the brink of starvation... then imagine Jennifer Lawrence... they don't match.

[–] bohemianroxie (2478) 6 years ago

I thought she was perfect for the role. In fact, this was about the last thing I liked her in with the exception of Silver Linings Playbook.
She was far better in her early indie roles..The Poker House, The Burning Plains and Winters Bone...and then this.
If you watch her earlier roles you see she fared far better with more introspective characters ..

[–] trevorh321 (5495) 4 years ago

To be fair, the story and characters from the novel are not interesting at all. It's amazing it was ever adapted in the first place. It's the most vanilla dystopian story I have ever read. I would give it zero stars. Fortunately, it's a very short novel.

[–] Otter (24464) 4 years ago

I havent read the books and dont plan to, and I'm willing to take your word on them, especially because the finished films are so uninteresting

That said... a really good actress certainly could gave done more with the role than Lawrence did.

[–] Quasimodo (16388) 4 years ago

Agreed. They should have cast Saoirse Ronan who had filmed ' Hanna ' in 2011. But I guess she wouldn't have done the you know what to you know who.

[–] Otter (24464) 4 years ago

Ronan would have been a good choice re the acting, Katniss is not a demonstrative person, and Ronan can let the audience know everything going on in her character's head without a indicating a damn thing. But physically she's small and frail, I dont think she'd have been right overall.

Personally I was thinking Sophie Turner, who always kept a ladylike calm on "Game of Thrones", but who still.let the audience know what was in Sansa's head. And she's a big strong Valkyrie of a girl, too. But she probably wasn't old enough when this film was made.

[–] Quasimodo (16388) 4 years ago

Sophie Turner is an Amazon of a woman isn't she ? Those shoulders and that frame ! I thought to myself she should take up golf because with some aptitude and practice she could smash a golf ball 250 yards off the tee. Unfortunately the girl can't act. Granted she improved a lot over Game of Thrones but she started from a very low base.

I take your point about Ronan, she is a slight 5' 6" but she was lean and fit for ' Hanna '. Lawrence at 5' 9" and carrying a good bit of weight looked more substantial but she was physically soft it seemed to me. Maybe they could have got Ronan lifting weights and downing protein shakes for a few months prior to filming to bulk her up a bit.

[–] Otter (24464) 4 years ago

I thought Turner was superb on "Game of Thrones", in a very subtle way. She played a character who maintained her ladylike cool 99.9% of the times, she never showed her feelings to the other characters but somehow, she hid Sansa's feelings from the other characters but revealed them to the audience. That's just what the actress playing Katniss should have done.

Plus she's a big strong broad-shouldered gal, if she's spent some runup time with a good trainer, physically she'd have been quite believable as a girl who was used to spending all day bow-hunting in the woods, and after a long hunt would still have enough strength to carry a deer carcass ten miles back to town. Ronan... less so. Same And yeah, Lawrence has a great shape, but somehow she looked too soft.

[–] Jones70 (6644) 3 years ago

I thought she did a pretty good job.

[–] Ranb (10206) 3 years ago

They should have chosen an actress who could pass better as the straight black hair, olive skin, grey eyed malnourished Katniss described in the book.

That said, I think Lawrence did a good job and I enjoyed the films for the most part.