Originally written by Alan Moore and brought to the silver screen by the Wachowski Brothers, V for Vendetta is a well-made and very stylish film which focuses on a totalitarian Britain 20-odd years hence, one which has survived a great war and a deadly plague, but has lost its freedom and become a sort of 1934 Germany. Chancellor Adam Sutler (Hurt) rules with an iron fist through his chief goon Creedy, and alternatively placates and terrorizes his citizens with tales of British excellence and the nightmares that lay just beyond her borders. In this world Evey Hammond is a menial employee of BNT, the British Television Network (think Soviet or Cuban state TV), who, breaking a curfew to visit her boss, is attacked by three 'Fingermen' (again, think SA Brownshirts). To her rescue comes the enigmatic V, who dispatches the Fingermen and ushers her home. From this point on poor Evey's life will never be the same.
Movies focusing on a post-apocalyptic future are almost a staple food these days, whether they be set in a near-future or a parallel world where everything has gone wrong (The Road Warrior, Equilibrium, Red Dawn ad infinitum). In this genre V for Vendetta plows its own furrow, focusing not on the USA but on Britain, and while the citizens live in fear of their government they also seem to enjoy a vague degree of personal freedom. Cleverly utilising present worries about the expansion of governmental powers and the degredation of human freedoms (see the de Menezes shooting or The Patriot Act), not to mention current Liberal thinking about the usage of fear to keep a populace in line, V is a well-timed and intelligent addition to the canon.
The acting is surprisingly good for a movie of this type, with an impressive Portman carrying the day with her excellent English accent. Weaving is as good as ever, though he is merely a body and a voice (we never once see his face), and continues his Lord Elrond method of speaking (high and mighty). The rest of the cast, made up of seasoned British actors, is of course superb, with John Hurt's menacing Chancellor Sutler (mostly a giant face on a TV screen) and Stephen Rea's weary yet inquisitive Chief Inspector the stand-outs. Newcomer McTeigue, who had worked as an Assistant Director on the Wachowski's Matrix trilogy, does a great job of bringing about the dark yet familiar world of London, and his control over the proceedings allows V to proceed smoothly. There were opportunities for it to falter, to be dull or preachy, but all in all everyone involved has done an excellent job and V for Vendetta deserves to bask in some well-earned glory. |
