STRAIGHT SHOOTER
JENNIFER LAWRENCE: Star remains grounded despite all her success
NEW YORK — Jennifer Lawrence knows all about the good, the bad and the ugly of being famous.
The good comes from the Hunger Games movies and the Oscar-honoured roles she’s enjoyed.
The bad is enduring the constant media exposure of her romantic relationships — most recently the break up with Coldplay’s Chris Martin. The ugly is coping with the emotional embarrassment of having her hacked naked pictures showing up online.
What’s a 24-year-old to do but put the yin and yang of it all in perspective and move forward?
“All in all, I get to do what I love and I know there is downside to every job,” says the spunky Lawrence, promoting the latest Hunger Games movie, Mockingjay - Part 1. “Does it ever get to be too much? Of course.”
The native of Kentucky shall overcome, as she proves playing Katniss in the latest dystopian adventure of the young adult and spiritual leader of a revolution.
In Mockingjay - Part 1, Katniss is joined by Gale (Liam Hemsworth) in an attempt to dismantle the Capital’s autocratic power. They also want to free an enslaved Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), whom the manipulative President Snow (Donald Sutherland) is using as a propaganda tool.
The story is an obvious setup for the cinematic climax of Mockingjay - Part 2, set for theatres next November. Meanwhile, Mockingjay 1 has its own subtle challenges.
“There’s a lot less action in this movie,” Lawrence says. “Katniss is in a very different place emotionally ... The Games have completely changed her. She has to totally rebuild herself.”
Besides the personality reconstruction, there is an underlying contradiction the actress needed to embrace that director Francis Lawrence stresses in the story.
“Katniss represents the consequences of war,” Lawrence says. “She knows that the Capital is a terrible government that’s only good for the elite one per cent.
“But she also knows that war is complicated and affects everyone on both sides. What we learn from her is there is no good way to start or end a war.”
Complicated stuff — but that’s exactly why Lawrence wanted to be involved in the film versions of the popular Suzanne Collins books.
Back then, Jennifer Lawrence had already made a name for herself by winning a best actress Oscar nomination for her complex role in 2010’s Winter’s Bone, but she wasn’t handed the coveted Katniss part.
She earned the job with impressive auditions that underscored her determination and resilience, which she needed for the Mockingjay - Part 1 and 2 shoot, which lasted almost a year
Natalie Dormer, who plays Katniss colleague Cressida in Part 1, witnessed the perfect amalgamation of character and actress during the months of filming.
“Katniss doesn’t have any ego and neither does Jennifer,” Dormer says. “The reason (Lawrence) is so compelling to an audience is because she’s true to herself.”