cinemabon
08-26-2006, 08:37 PM
V for Vendetta, a film directed by James McTeigue (assist on The Matrix)
“Remember, remember the fifth of November…” the film begins, a lone voice speaking in the dark. The story of Guy Fawkes and the plot against the throne of James I is an old one in merry old England. Every year, the English gather to vilify the image of Fawkes by burning his effigy in the streets. “What is one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter,” is at the heart of this film. Based on the comic (graphic novel) of the same name first published in 1982, story by Allan Moore and art by David Lloyd, this new approach that shook the comic world awake with its blunt and brutal satire aimed at the Thatcher administration. Those following the baby-boomer generation have especially taken pot shots at the antiquated method of rule, with Parliament symbolizing a monarchy that stretches back over a thousand years.
The film opens with some dry English humor that in the near future, the United State economy will have collapsed and we will become a pauper nation, begging England for assistance. (Quite the opposite has been the case). England is beset with terrorist. In order to quell fears, increased security has reduced the ineffectual Parliament to rubberstamping a Fascist state. “Keep them (the public) afraid and you keep them controlled,” the booming voice (face only) of the leader advises, not unlike someone else we know and hate.
In the opening of the film, we see two people whose lives will be intertwined throughout this changing plot. V, (Hugo Weaving) the man with no memory, and Evey (Natalie Portman), a young woman robbed of her past. After a brief introduction, the two characters meet on the street when rogue policemen intent on raping her accost Evey after hours. V, donning the mask of Guy Fawkes, saves her life in slow motion, Kung Fu fashion, as is so common these days. Knives fly in all directions and soon three men lay dead on the street. V then takes Evey to the rooftop and proceeds to level the Ministry of Justice building to the tune of the 1812 Overture.
Two movies emerge after this opening. One is about V, a man of refined culture who never ventures from behind his ceramic mask, well read with a house full of books and fine art, but a devotee to jazz. He is bent on revenge, to kill those responsible for altering his body and leaving him with skinless flesh. These same people also performed unspeakable crimes against humanity, using people as guinea pigs when creating viruses to attack terrorists. The parallels to Nazi Germany and 1984 are everywhere, from the leader whose head yells at his division chiefs daily, to the goose-stepping policeman, to the concentration camps where refugees are rounded up, taken, and then experimented upon.
However, one thing that distinguishes V from other movies of this type is the second story that runs parallel to the first. Division chief, Eric Finch investigating the murders, diligently played by Stephen Rea, helps to carry the film’s anti-big leader message with an underlying dissolution. Every day, Finch’s face grows increasingly weary of carrying out the wishes of an oppressor instead of performing his duties as a criminal investigator. The tipping point comes when he discovers a state secret hidden for years and the basis for the new government’s rise to power.
Behind the V mask lies actor Hugo Weaving, known more recently as Agent Smith in The Matrix and Elrond in Lord of the Rings. Although we never see his face, his soothing and intense voice sell the portrayal through the mask. I have to commend Weaving for his courage in never being able to use his face for acting. They did not use a double on the set. John Hurt’s role is reduced to shouting at the camera as the tyrant. However, Natalie Portman is able to overcome her ineffectual role from Star Wars and delivers a fine performance here, having to undergo torture, and endure countless cruel acts against her character. Her scenes in the prison are some of her best work. The bittersweet ending is a punctuation mark for our shortcomings as a nation. Had we not elected Bush, would we be in this sorry state of affairs? Would a Gore administration have listened to the warnings and prevented 9/11? Are we to be subjected to a lifetime of fear tactics from our government every time their popularity shrinks below 30%? These questions and many more are implied in this hit and miss film.
The DVD (I bought the two disc special edition) has the usual compliment of extras, with the short on Guy Fawkes the most informative for stupid Americans lacking in British history. Another short by designer Owen Paterson explains how he recreated the world of the original graphic novel. I would have liked a commentary by the director, too. Instead, we got a short “how the film was made” doc that glosses over too much. Overall, I would say this is a definite must see for this year, if only to witness the fact Natalie Portman can act, if given the right material and director, and to see how Hugo Weaving pulled off V without so much as a smile.
“Remember, remember the fifth of November…” the film begins, a lone voice speaking in the dark. The story of Guy Fawkes and the plot against the throne of James I is an old one in merry old England. Every year, the English gather to vilify the image of Fawkes by burning his effigy in the streets. “What is one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter,” is at the heart of this film. Based on the comic (graphic novel) of the same name first published in 1982, story by Allan Moore and art by David Lloyd, this new approach that shook the comic world awake with its blunt and brutal satire aimed at the Thatcher administration. Those following the baby-boomer generation have especially taken pot shots at the antiquated method of rule, with Parliament symbolizing a monarchy that stretches back over a thousand years.
The film opens with some dry English humor that in the near future, the United State economy will have collapsed and we will become a pauper nation, begging England for assistance. (Quite the opposite has been the case). England is beset with terrorist. In order to quell fears, increased security has reduced the ineffectual Parliament to rubberstamping a Fascist state. “Keep them (the public) afraid and you keep them controlled,” the booming voice (face only) of the leader advises, not unlike someone else we know and hate.
In the opening of the film, we see two people whose lives will be intertwined throughout this changing plot. V, (Hugo Weaving) the man with no memory, and Evey (Natalie Portman), a young woman robbed of her past. After a brief introduction, the two characters meet on the street when rogue policemen intent on raping her accost Evey after hours. V, donning the mask of Guy Fawkes, saves her life in slow motion, Kung Fu fashion, as is so common these days. Knives fly in all directions and soon three men lay dead on the street. V then takes Evey to the rooftop and proceeds to level the Ministry of Justice building to the tune of the 1812 Overture.
Two movies emerge after this opening. One is about V, a man of refined culture who never ventures from behind his ceramic mask, well read with a house full of books and fine art, but a devotee to jazz. He is bent on revenge, to kill those responsible for altering his body and leaving him with skinless flesh. These same people also performed unspeakable crimes against humanity, using people as guinea pigs when creating viruses to attack terrorists. The parallels to Nazi Germany and 1984 are everywhere, from the leader whose head yells at his division chiefs daily, to the goose-stepping policeman, to the concentration camps where refugees are rounded up, taken, and then experimented upon.
However, one thing that distinguishes V from other movies of this type is the second story that runs parallel to the first. Division chief, Eric Finch investigating the murders, diligently played by Stephen Rea, helps to carry the film’s anti-big leader message with an underlying dissolution. Every day, Finch’s face grows increasingly weary of carrying out the wishes of an oppressor instead of performing his duties as a criminal investigator. The tipping point comes when he discovers a state secret hidden for years and the basis for the new government’s rise to power.
Behind the V mask lies actor Hugo Weaving, known more recently as Agent Smith in The Matrix and Elrond in Lord of the Rings. Although we never see his face, his soothing and intense voice sell the portrayal through the mask. I have to commend Weaving for his courage in never being able to use his face for acting. They did not use a double on the set. John Hurt’s role is reduced to shouting at the camera as the tyrant. However, Natalie Portman is able to overcome her ineffectual role from Star Wars and delivers a fine performance here, having to undergo torture, and endure countless cruel acts against her character. Her scenes in the prison are some of her best work. The bittersweet ending is a punctuation mark for our shortcomings as a nation. Had we not elected Bush, would we be in this sorry state of affairs? Would a Gore administration have listened to the warnings and prevented 9/11? Are we to be subjected to a lifetime of fear tactics from our government every time their popularity shrinks below 30%? These questions and many more are implied in this hit and miss film.
The DVD (I bought the two disc special edition) has the usual compliment of extras, with the short on Guy Fawkes the most informative for stupid Americans lacking in British history. Another short by designer Owen Paterson explains how he recreated the world of the original graphic novel. I would have liked a commentary by the director, too. Instead, we got a short “how the film was made” doc that glosses over too much. Overall, I would say this is a definite must see for this year, if only to witness the fact Natalie Portman can act, if given the right material and director, and to see how Hugo Weaving pulled off V without so much as a smile.