V for Vendetta (17 March 2006)
directed by James McTeigue
starring Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea, Stephen Fry, John Hurt, Tim Piggott-Smith, Rupert Graves, Roger Allam, Ben Miles, Eddie Marsan
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MPAA rating: Studio: Silver Pictures, Anarchos Productions, Warner Brothers, DC Comics, Virtual Studios Script: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski Based on the book by: Alan Moore, David Lloyd Music: Dario Marianelli Running time: 132 minutes Tags: comic-book adaptation; conspiracies; Drama; England; Fawkes, Guy; genetic engineering; homosexuality; knives; masks; murder; police; prisons; revenge; terrorists; Thriller; totalitarian governments Tactical strength: [8/10]
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for strong violence and some language
Following the end of an unpopular world war started by the United
States and several terrorist attacks that take the lives of nearly
100,000 British citizens, the British people elect a totalitarian
government reminiscent of Orwell's
Evey (Natalie Portman) works for the government television network,
and prior to V's announcement, V had rescued Evey from several
government "officials" who wanted to take advantage of their position
rape Evey using the excuse that she was out after curfew. On the day
of V's announcement, Evey saves V by knocking out a policeman, and
later V saves Evey from arrest by taking her unconscious body back to
his hideout.
The government police, lead by Inspector Finch (Stephen Rea), have
explicit instructions to arrest V before he can follow through with
his threats. Through Finch, we begin to see pieces of three story
lines: how the totalitarian government manipulated events to assure
its election, how V emerged from a series of genetic testing that
tried to discover an ultra-effectivebioweapon , and that during Evey's
childhood, the new totalitarian government arrested and killed Evey's
parents and brother for demonstrating against the government.
I wasn't surprised to learn that V's strength and quick reflexes
resulted from genetic testing, but the lengths he goes to extract
revenge against the official and scientists that imprisoned him and
the extreme action he takes to express his love for Evey produce some
shocking revelations. As Inspector Finch gathers more and more
information about V and Evey, he discovers several government secrets
that disturb him and cause him to question his allegiance.
The script expertly handles four story lines, the three in the past
and the one in the present, a winds them all together so that by the
end we come to appreciate V's convictions. In spite of disagreeing
with some of his methods, we necessarily have to condone V's
determination to restore a democratic government. The film balances
V's violence with his love of art and political altruism. Evey comes
to represent the everyman, and the transformations we watch in her we
see reflected in the populace as they come to respect V and his ideas
more than they fear the government storm troopers.
V for Vendetta kept my interest throughout the entire film and
even inspired me to look up Guy Fawkes and read
about the
Gunpowder Plot. The acting doesn't have a lot of range, so
Weaving,Portman , and Rea don't get much of a chance to demonstrate
their capabilities well established in other roles. The
twisting and engaging story line more than makes up for the "comic
book" characters, and director JamesMcTeigue displays an excellent
balance of mystery, suspense, and violence.
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