Lawrence treads familiar territory in 'Hunger Games'

IF YOU'RE ONE of those people who wonder why Hollywood gave Jennifer Lawrence the lead in "The Hunger Games," do yourself a favor.

Go rent a movie called "Winter's Bone," which earned Lawrence an Oscar nomination.

She plays a tough-as-nails Ozark mountain girl with a dead father and an emotionally withdrawn mother who steps up to protect her younger siblings.

And, let's see, Katniss Everdeen is ... a tough-as-nails Appalachian girl with a dead father and a catatonic mother who steps up to protect her younger sister.

She was great in the low-budget indie "Winter's Bone," and to watch it is to erase all doubts as to her credentials and qualifications for the high-profile challenge of "The Hunger Games."

Still, enthusiastic readers are understandably protective of Katniss, one of the great recent characters in young-adult lit. It's that sense of ownership that led to protests when the role went to Lawrence - she's 10 years older than Suzanne Collins' heroine, and she doesn't match the physical description. Collins describes Everdeen as having "olive skin," gray eyes and black hair. Lawrence is 0-for-3 there, although she has dark hair and contact lenses for the movie.

Others have complained about Lawrence's weight - she's not thin enough for them - which is a first, given the skeletal appearance of most A-list Hollywood actresses.

But it's true . Lawrence is not slight like Katniss, and she's obviously not hungry, and the movie is called "The Hunger Games."

On the other hand, her character is not sitting around waiting for her rations. She's over the wire, hunting her food, trading it for valuables, risking her life to bring her friends and family the things they need.

Sounds like the girl in "Winter's Bone," who teaches her siblings to shoot squirrels, and who stands up to a cabal of meth dealers in order to protect her homestead, even in the face of a beating.

"What are we going to do with you?" asks one exasperated attacker.

"Help me," she says, "or kill me."

Sounds like Katniss to me. n