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Review #66 of 365
Film: V for Vendetta [R] 131 minutes
WIP: $13.50
When 1st Seen: 17 March 2006
Where Viewed: Century 16 Belmar, Lakewood, CO
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Review Dedicated to: Kris E. of Chicago, IL
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DVD | soundtrack |
Written by Andy and Larry ‘The Matrix Trilogy’ Wachowski, directed by James ‘got his feet wet assistant directing the Matrices and Star Wars episode II’ McTeigue, and starring Natalie ‘Queen Amidala’ Portman and Hugo ‘Agent Smith’ Weaving, based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, V is for Vendetta is at once a ‘reunion’ of people (actors, writers, and directors) and ideas (it is not freedom and justice to be at the mercy of one’s government). The essence of the film involves a man named V (Hugo Weaving) disguised by a Guy Fawkes mask who voraciously values verisimilitude and ventures to vindicate violently the vast violations of verity and validity of the post-third world war, English government. [I promise that will be my only attempt at ‘V’ alliteration—and a feeble one at that when compared to the brilliant one that V expounds early on in the film when introducing himself.] There is much to know, historically, though as a foundation in English history that the writers have captured here and then built upon. Guy Fawkes was the person held responsible for the Gunpowder Plot of 1605—please read all about his, but the brief synopsis is that decades of Protestant rule and Catholic persecution in England was thought to be at an end when Queen Elizabeth I died and was succeeded by King James I whose mother was Catholic. Unfortunately, King James failed to live up to Catholic prayers, and eventually Guy Fawkes and a band of a dozen or so other men plotted to blow up the British Parliament Building (you know, the building that has Tower Clock with the bell, Big Ben, inside). Well, the plot was foiled on 5 November when Guy Fawkes was caught in the cellar with three dozen or so casks of gun powder. Needless to say he was executed for his crime. The history has it that bonfires were set that night in honor of the King. The 5th of November then became known as Bonfire Night and is celebrated annually in England with the burning of effigies of Guy Fawkes. Of course, it wouldn’t be an English tradition were it not for the possible dual meaning of the Guy Fawkes Day where some may wonder if they are celebrating the saving of the king/survival of their government or honoring a man who stood up for injustice in a government that was suppressing the freedom of religious expression. Knowing this history helps put the actions and story of V and his ultimate plan in context. Along the way, though, V is saved and then saves a young woman, Evey (Natalie Portman) whose family members were all killed by the government--her parents for activism and her brother in a plot so twisted as horrifying as to be best revealed by the film itself. He hopes, at first, just to keep her safe, but eventually things, as things do, get a bit more complicated leading to some initially stupefying, but ultimately gratifying, twists. For as we learn more and more about V, we see that the story is so much less about him and so much more about the idea of him. When we consider the superhero archetype, sometimes we forget that what makes them endure is that they represent more than a person behind a mask who feigns death to save others, they stand for ideas; and, as V himself says at one point, “I am not a man, I am an idea, and you cannot kill and idea.” Moreover, the story is more about the impact he/this idea has on others than on V himself. As superhero movies go, I classify them into three categories: ones that spend too much time creating the superhero as to never allow much time to see the hero in action (The Fantastic Four), ones that spend too much time on the villains as to obscure the point of the superhero (Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever), and ones that equalize the balance between how the superhero becomes super and then how he or she fends off villains (Batman Begins, Spiderman). It is from the third of these categories that the best of the superhero movies emerge. For me, V is for Vendetta falls into this latter category. Without belaboring it, we see how the government is responsible for creating him, we gain insight into why he is who he is, and we see how he takes revenge and reconciles the wrongs. V, after all, is for vendetta. In today’s world, this is going to be a controversial film. The question as to whether what V plans constitutes morally justifiable activity in the face of his views of the government vs. the reality of the government’s actions or not will certainly be posed. The answer most definitely is not an easy one no matter how one looks at it.
Breaking down the elements of the film itself, the directing, acting, story, special effects, cinematography, sound, and design were all simply incredible. I was drawn in immediately and never looked back. Hugo Weaving’s eloquent, compassionate, warm, and powerful voice comes through the masked V in a way that was refreshing and surprising. I must admit that I spent the bulk of the film trying to figure out who was the behind the mask of V, and he was my guess, though, I am not quite sure why. Certainly, he does not sound anything like Agent Smith. For some reason, many people will be focusing on the shaving of Ms Portman’s hair as some seminal event in her career and completely missing that, hair or not, this is not the two-dimensional Amidala we witnessed in three Star Wars films, this is a beautiful, 3-D, character transformation as a young woman reckons with the demons of her own past while confronting the horrors of the entire future of her country and the role she might play in bringing about cataclysmic change. And it was a touch of cinematic, historical brilliance to cast John Hurt, whom some may recall played Winston Smith in the screen adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984, as the wicked, maniacal, talking head head of state Adam Sutler who took over England after the war and ‘restored order’ at any cost to the formerly chaotic nation. Fellow Brits Stephen Rea and Stephen Fry also deliver excellent performances as the government official charged with catching V and the star of the British Television Network’s highest rated talk show. From the beautifully written dialogue of the film, to the use of intensely beautiful Scarlet Carson roses as V’s vengeful calling card, to the eerie Guy Fawkes masks themselves, there are so many delectable touches in this film as to remind me of a box of Godiva® chocolates—each piece to be examined, admired, tasted, and savored. Originally, slated for release in November 2005, whatever complications caused the delay, all the better I say, for now the movie can enter as one of the best of 2006, and certainly the best film released thus far this year. With an almost Matrix-like impact on me—causing me to think, to analyze, to question, and to wonder, it is the first major motion picture of the year that left me wanting a sequel and wanting to see it again and again.
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V For Vendetta [DVD](2005) DVD
V For Vendetta (Widescreen Version) [DVD](2005) DVD
V For Vendetta (Special Edition) [DVD](2005) DVD
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