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Rating: 4 out of 5
I just recently read the book 1984 by George Orwell. It took me quite a while to ready, but I highly enjoyed the book. To read about a world/government that rules with an iron fist is interesting. Not interesting on the way one person views them but how they maintain TOTAL control and order. How the use of Doublethink and Newspeak is used to convince the masses that Big Brother is ALWAYS right and knows all. I will say the book really picked up when the main character was being rehabilitated. That is where the true face of Big Brother appeared, and it is quite fascinating.
If you are looking for a film with many elements like the book 1984, then look no further than V for Vendetta. A world where the United Kingdom is ruled as a Nordic supremacist and neo-fascist police state (i.e., like Germany and the Third Reich). The rest of the world has pretty much fallen into a shitshow (i.e., like the year 2020). Actually, now that I think about it, this is almost coming true right now. Maybe the movie foretold. The film explores what happens when V decides that the government has become too strong, and the country must be given back to the people. As the main character states, “Remember, remember, the 5th of November.”
In a future that seems to be very close to happening, the world has been thrown into chaos, turmoil, and warfare. The United States has become a shell of itself as it has been in a second civil war for a prolonged period of time. Europe has been ravaged by a pandemic called the St. Mary’s Virus. The United Kingdom is now ruled by the all-powerful High Chancellor Adam Sutler and the Norsefire Party. The Norsefire Party rules the United Kingdom as a Nordic supremacist and neo-fascist police state. Political opponents, immigrants, Jews, Muslims, atheists, homosexuals, and other “undesirables” are imprisoned and executed in concentration camps. It has become a very, very shitty place.
Amid all the chaos, war, and misery, a man known only by the name V (Weaving) decides to stand up to the government and labeled a terrorist. The film follows Evey Hammond (Portman), as one night she is walking home. She is attacked when V rescues her. During their chance meeting, V, in spectacular fashion, blows up The Old Bailey. As Evey and V bond, Evey soon learns that even though V may be charismatic and have a passion for justice, he also is bitter and has his own personal hatred of the government for something they did to him long ago. On national television, V declares that in a year on November the 5th states that he and those who will follow him will stand up to the government once and for all.
When watching this film, I must say that the story is heavily reflected in today’s climate. When it first came out, it was meh, but now it strikes a significant tone. I honestly don’t know where to begin when trying to review this film. Many elements are quite strong today. I guess the best place to start and where the film hits the most is the rise of a dictatorship party. After many disasters, the world has gone to shit, and a party/leader has risen up and claimed the country with an iron fist. This seems like today, as people with strong convictions and ideas are now in power. Yet, you don’t know what to believe because, in the film, Britain has one news channel that gives out fake news. One of the TV studio’s main hosts spoke severely of the Chancellor, and well, he didn’t get the happy ending he was expecting. Today, everyone says that a source is fake news this and that. Also, a virus has spread throughout the country that has killed thousands, and people are looking for leadership in the face of this outbreak. Speaks so much today it isn’t even funny. This movie and the world today resemble the book 1984 so very much.
Now the movie and storyline revolve around the character V. V seems to play a dual role in the film. He is both a hero and a terrorist. He believes that the government is too powerful, and the people are the ones to rule. As he stated in the film, “People should not be afraid of their government, government should be afraid of their people.” V might be lost in his reasoning as people need the government to maintain some sense of order, but he is right that a revolution is needed when the government is a totalitarian state. V believes the best way for freedom is to rise up and overthrow the people. His mind might be a little warped, and a significant fire of vengeance resides in him as the government did experiment on him and somewhat burn him to a crisp. The main thing about V is that he did blow up a significant building in the beginning. This was a wake-up call to the people as he challenged them to help overthrow the government from a year on a specific day.
Even though the movie states that the people are the ones to overthrow a government, the film is pretty much a one-man’s mission to do it himself. In the year time frame, the citizens really do absolutely nothing until the end of the film. The citizens didn’t do a damn thing until the end when a little girl got shot, and people painting the V symbol all over the place. That was it. On the other hand, V went on a vengeance quest to take down influential leaders and the people who wronged him. He took out a doctor, priest, military leader, and anyone else who stood in his way that was at the top.
Now an area that seemed out of place was this whole relationship between V and Evey. It had this entire Phantom of the Opera/ Cyrano de Bergerac feel to it. I don’t know what to make of their relationship. It is hard to tell how someone is feeling when you can’t see their face or the expressions they are making. I think that is where some of the problems lie because it almost seemed like the two characters liked each other, but you really didn’t know between the two because no one seemed to smile. Some scenes you think they were cool.
Now for the acting, I would say it was good, but once again, you really don’t know. Hugo Weaving as V was entertaining, but you couldn’t see his face. You really had to rely on his body language and his voice. Good thing Weaving has a good acting voice because he made the character very interesting that way. Portman, on the other hand, was a little meh. I didn’t know if she was happy to be in the film half the time because she was expressionless sometimes. I guess it is hard speaking to a person who wears a mask all day.
For the rest of the cast, Stephen Rea, as Finch was good. He was a detective and played it like a regular ole cop. John Hurt, as Adam Sutler was intense. If you need a man to show some anger and rule with an iron fist, he played the role very well. He had that “off with your head” type feel to him.
The film is pretty good and, by today’s standards, worth a watch. If you like any dystopian books like 1984, then this film is right up your ally. It is entertaining and has some good fight scenes. It lacks in the acting department, but nothing is perfect when trying to bring down a government.
