V For Vendetta (2005, R)

NOSTALGIA WARNING.  Ok, maybe "nostalgia" isn't quite the correct word, but I should warn you that -unlike every review I've posted so far- this is not my first viewing of this film.  In fact I watch this movie every year on Nov 5 (if you've seen the movie and/or are familiar with Guy Fawkes Day, you'll understand the significance).  But the point of my warning is that I have some pre-existing affection for this film and so you should take my advice with a grain of salt.  But you should anyway, so I guess I'll just try to list the good and bad things about the movie as well as I can.  Also, please be aware that this film is not currently available to stream on Netflix: I watched it on DVD.

This movie is based on a graphic novel by Allan Moore (League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The Watchmen; I know people tend to say this about all book-to-film adaptations [except American Psycho, the film of which does a better job of telling a/the story, I think], but the print version is far superior to the films for both of these) and the screenplay was written by the Wachowski Brothers (The Matrix).  Good start, right?  Hugo Weaving (The Matrix, Lord Of The Rings) plays the title role of V, the mysterious anti-hero/vigilante/terrorist who perpetually wears a full black cloak (think Soloman Kane) and a metal Guy Fawkes mask.

  He never uses guns (which evokes some thought of Batman), though he does use knives and the occasional explosives-and-orchestral-music combination.  Weaving does a fantastic job of acting and conveying emotion even though we can never see his face and rarely see any flesh at all.  Natalie Portman (Black Swan, Leon: The Professional) plays Evey, a young woman who works at the national news station and has the combined fortune/misfortune to cross paths with V.  Portman's performance was very competent, but I can't say that any part of it shone more than much the rest of the cast... though I must add that she did consent to have her head shorn for part of the role which must have been difficult for a woman whose beautiful face is so beautifully frame by her beautiful locks... sigh... and she still looked good.  The story takes place in the not-too-distant future, an England ruled with an iron fist by a Supreme Chancellor.  Chancellor Sutler was played by John Hurt (Hellboy, The Storyteller television series), who played the protagonist in a similarly Orwellian future England in the film 1984.  I like to think that this ironic role-change was done purposefully.  Another main character is the Chief Inspector who is a good man and a good cop, played by Stephen Rea who also starred in The Crying Game which is another anti-establishment movie (if you haven't seen it, see it, preferably with someone who already has if you want to be kind to them; if you've seen it, see it again with someone who hasn't, but don't say a word about it nor indicate in any other way what's going on; I saw it for the first time with my brothers, only one of whom knew about it, and it blew my mind).

As with any print to film adaptation, the screenwriters had to pick and chose which characters and plot threads to highlight because there is not enough time to do it all in a feature length movie.  For similar reasons they have to condense certain thoughts and ideas so that they are more swiftly (and maybe unconsciously) absorbed by the audience.  I kept the graphic novel next to me during my recent viewing of V in order to better observe some of the differences.  One change that I thought was particularly brilliant was that the Chancellor, who was usually in a dark office or behind a control panel in the GN, was presented in almost every one of his appearances in the film as a face on a giant monitor talking to his chief subordinates: this evokes imagery of the Emperor from Star Wars, and pretty quickly lets the audience know the national political situation.  A scene was added in which V and Evey briefly discuss The Count Of Monte Cristo and that does a pretty good job of telling their thoughts and motivations in a short time.  Overall I very much approve of the scenes chosen for the film and especially how they were filmed, as it told a very good (thought somewhat different from the GN) story.

Now let's discuss the real-wold situation in the general time the film was released.  On September 11, 2001, the United States suffered its most devastating terrorist attack yet and two very large buildings in a very large city were blown up.  This changed the American climate from that day forward and nerves were especially raw in the days and years immediately following.  The trailer for the Spider-Man (2002) movie was removed from theaters and replaced with a new one because the original had Spidey catching a crook's helicopter in a web between the Twin Towers (presumably the producers did not want to appear to be making light of the former New York landmark).  The ending to Men In Black 2 (2002) was re-shot to replace the scene of a conversation that took place outside the World Trade Center.  And then in 2005, a film is made (based on a comic written in the 1980's) in which the main character wants to blow up a building to change the world.  That takes balls!  V is definitely an anti-hero rather than a flat-out protagonist.  He has faults and takes the extreme approach.  I can pretty much guarantee you'll question some of his actions by the end of the movie, but I think that's the point.  He's not supposed to be an angel, he's supposed to make you think about what you believe in.  Thank goodness he's a fictional character in a fictional world, though I'm sure you could draw analogies to real-world personalities and situations.

I think what I like least about the film (more so the character) is that he kills so many policemen.  These are not the secret police (though there are those as well) but regular peacekeepers who write speeding tickets and arrest muggers: they don't deserve to die.  While I'm sad to see that many of the story elements from the GN did not make it into the movie, I do understand that it was probably best for the film as a whole.  What I like the most are that a) the movie did a fantastic job of creating a world and a compelling conspiracy plot and b) Weaving did a phenomenal job in his role as such a powerful character.  For me this movie is a definite 5 stars.  If you don't like morally ambiguous main characters, if you don't like violence, if stories with oppressive governments make you uncomfortable... you won't like this movie.  If you're pretty much anyone else, I'll tell you to see this movie.  But more specifically, if you like stories that question what's a worthwhile course of action, what makes a person who they are, when the ends justify the means; if you like enigmatic main characters with strong personalities, and conspiracy plots... you'll love V For Vendetta.  On an unrelated note: in the final scene, pay close attention to the faces in the crowd... you're in for a treat.  Also, see how many V-shapes you can spot in the film.  There are a few.