NoFace for Film

Title: V for Vendetta
Year: 2005 (but released in 2006)
Director: James McTeigue
Starring Cast: Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea
Rated: R

NoFace Rating: 5.5 out of 7

Miracle of miracles, I actually get to review a brand new movie that I saw this weekend. And it’s a good one.

The story takes place in England in the near alternative future (at one point the date is given as 2020). The country is in the iron grip of a facist government with a dictatorial Chancellor (John Hurt). The government listens to citizens’ private conversations, controls the media, and the law is brutally enforced. People are arrested, tortured, and even executed for “civil disobedience” which can range from owning contraband items (certain works of art and music), to simply expressing disagreement with the Chancellor.

Portman plays Evey, a young woman who works as a lowly production assistant at a government controlled television station. One night as she’s walking in the street Evey is accosted by several men who are part of the secret police and attempt to rape her. She is saved from her attackers by a mysterious man in a Guy Fawkes mask and black clothing. He reveals himself as V (Weaving), a freedom fighter who feels it’s his duty to liberate the people of the totalitarian regime. Evey becomes involved in his plans to bring down the government at the cost of also becoming an enemy of the state.

V for Vendetta is a film adaptation from a graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. Naturally, in every film adaptation there are some differences, and naturally this ticks off fans of the original work. To which I say: Whatever man. You can’t please everyone.

To me, V for Vendetta draws elements from The Phantom of the Opera, Fight Club, Brazil , and 1984. You have the relationship between a young girl and a strange, somewhat unhinged man in a mask (Phantom); using violence and anarchy to change society (Fight Club); and an innocent person hunted down by a totalitarian, absolutist government (Brazil and 1984). This film (and the graphic novel) takes those elements and blends them nicely in an intriguing story that has audiences cheering for the anti-hero.

Anyway, I thought that in general it was a great movie. It’s visually stunning, which is expected from the Wachowski Brothers, who wrote the screenplay. I liked the overall plot and the characters. As for the actors, I thought that Natalie Portman was great in it. In my opinion, her acting in V for Vendetta and in Closer made up for the disaster that is Padme Nabierre Skywalker. And by the way, nice British accent, my dear. Stephen Rea was also pretty good as the dedicated but conflicted Detective Eric Finch, who is hot on V and Evey’s trail. And although we never see his face, Hugo Weaving is stellar in the title role: so elegant and gentlemanly, but who can seriously kick ass with knives. And you’ve gotta love his silky, prim and proper voice. I’ve always loved his voice, from the moment I heard it in Babe as Rex, the noble sheepherding dog. In short, Hugo Weaving rocks.

That being said, there are some weaknesses. My boyfriend and I agree in that the movie is too heavily political. He also thinks that parts of it were pretentious; at times when V talked, he seemed to be full of hot air. In my case, I feel that some scenes were a bit cheesy while others were a little too drawn out. There is one major sequence that I disagreed with, which I won’t mention since it’s a huge chunk of the story. I later found out that this sequence occurs in the graphic novel as well, so I can’t blame the Wachowski brothers for it.

One caveat about V for Vendetta is that it’s not really an “action” film. What I mean is that, because the Wachowski brothers wrote the screenplay, people may think there’s lots of explosions and cool fight scenes throughout the movie. Yes, these do occur, but they are few and far between. Rather, much is spent on plot movement and exposition. So if people are expecting something similar to The Matrix, they might be disappointed. Fortunately, I wasn’t quite expecting something like that and so I wasn’t disappointed.

Overall, I rather enjoyed the movie and as you can see, I’ve given it a pretty high rating. Go out and see it! Afterward, read the graphic novel if you can. Or you can check out Wikipedia for a summary of it instead.

Technorati Tags: V for Vendetta, Alan Moore, graphic novel, Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea, Guy Fawkes, Parliament, totalitarian, facist, The Phantom of the Opera, Fight Club, Brazil, 1984, Wachowski brothers, The Matrix