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V for Vendetta
Warner Bros.
2006 – now in theaters
A female European cuckoo, pregnant with child, will lay its eggs in the nests of other birds. Upon hatching, the cuckoo’s featherless chick methodically hurls all other inhabitants from the nest. The mother of the disposed eggs then raises the cuckoo, unwittingly mistaking it for its own brood. “V for Vendetta,” a slick, new feature film produced by the Wachowski Brothers of Matrix fame, appears at first glance to be simply another big, dumb and loud movie playing at the local multiplex. Adapted from the graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, the unprepared moviegoer wouldn’t be remiss to preemptively write off the film as a crass cash-in similar to such butchered film versions of Alan Moore’s comic work as the abysmal “From Hell,” or the simply unspeakable “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.” Surprisingly, this science fiction movie, director James McTeigue’s first feature film, is a sharp and imaginative stab at subversive filmmaking masquerading behind the mask of a multiplex super-smash.
The film transposes the incisive Thatcher-era political critique of the original onto a more topical post-War on Terror milieu. Natalie Portman co-stars as the compatriot of V, a revolutionary terrorist waging a one-man war against an oppressive and seemingly impenetrable totalitarian state. Hugo Weaving gives a deft performance, which is all the more admirable considering the fact that he must deliver his lines from beneath a Guy Fawkes mask. The premise of the movie, that of a noble rebel battling against a savage and oppressive establishment, is an archetype common in films and novels stretching across the political spectrum. In ill-advised hands, the lone rebel can be transformed into an exemplar of rugged individualism, a superman who, just like the government he is battling, offers to do all the thinking so that the masses won’t have to. But “V for Vendetta” courageously presents V’s rebellion as, before anything else, a revolution of ideas and ideals. The movie never loses sight of the fact that most importantly, ideas are goals to which we can all aspire, yet may very well fall short of. The provocative ambiguity of the movie is occasionally offset by a pat sentimentalism most evident in the final five minutes and various shots of citizens’ reactions to V’s actions throughout the movie. Any of “V for Vendetta’s sensationalism and tendency for the obvious is entirely forgivable though, considering just how subversive it is. The flaws are equally reconcilable because the movie offers just the right about of flashy action scenes, classy art direction and superb performances all around. Stephen Rea as dogged police detective offers a nuanced turn, superbly playing off the more bombastic performances, such as John Hurt’s maniacal head of state, Sutler, or Hugo Weaving as the titular Guy Fawkes masked terrorist.
The Wachowski Brothers’ appreciation of the comic book medium thankfully mixes just the right balance of reverence for the source material as well as irreverence, allowing the writers and producers to adapt the work as befits the film medium. While never resorting to gee-whiz fan boy-isms, “V for Vendetta” incorporates knowing nods to the original graphic novel, from celluloid reproductions of actual panels from the comic to little details such as action series “Storm Saxon” playing on the television. The graphic novel was a work of art very much of its time and place, late-eighties conservative England. The Wachowski Brothers’ adaptation both remains true to the vision of the original while simultaneously crafting a film very much of it’s time.
The American breed of cuckoos, more popularly known as roadrunners, often attack and kill desert lizards, a much larger prey than the hairy caterpillars and winged insects its European brethren subsist upon. It is exactly because of the sheer size and inevitable box office draw of “V for Vendetta” that it so admirable that the filmmakers stake their claim upon the larger and more dangerous lizards, rather than contenting themselves with much easier small prey. A major studio producing a movie insisting governments should be afraid of its people, rather than the other way around, is a mighty, powerful statement. The destruction of a building, V states at one point in the movie, can prove a bold symbol. Yes, symbols are powerful, but they are not intrinsically good or evil. Both V and the oppressive government headed by Sutler utilize symbols, but V’s symbols provide open-ended interpretation and utilization, while Sutler’s symbolism spins lies and deceit. The fate of freedom and society is not dictated by symbols, but by their application. That, “V for Vendetta” states, is left entirely in the hands of man
Review by Allan Mozek
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