"Vendetta" wins

Warner Pictures‘ V for Vendetta shines with the polish of high-quality filmmaking. While remaining closely in touch with its roots in the kingdom of comic books, it stays real. And not real in a sense that it grips the truth well. Real in a sense that it pulls its own totally unique style off well, a style that seems to have been unfilmed up to this point in time, in the mainstream, and in the comic book-movie genre. V sets a strong pulse from the start, and keeps it there, pausing only for moments before resuming at breakneck speeds in the desired direction. The story takes place in post-nuclear war Britain; the bomb (or bombs) apparently went off elsewhere. A fascist government has overtaken the land, and a hero emerges, in elegant masquerade ball attire, to stir the passive masses into fighting back. The film, like the comic book, drives the story with the ideals of Anarchist philosophy. This seems not to help or hurt the film, however, as it marches on separate from its political undertones as an enthralling story of good against obviously evil (the Art Direction, particularly with the design of the New British flag, hints at Nazi Germany). The mysterious hero is voiced brilliantly by Hugo Weaving, whose thoughtful, provocative vocal demeanor will be forever remembered as that of the renegade villain of the Matrix trilogy (the Wachowskis wrote that film too, but after Vendetta). He guides the young protagonist Evie (Natalie Portman in a strong performance excluding her accent) along her path to inner-freedom from her fear; his methods to achieve this end become quite bizarre as time goes on; one may even question V’s moral character at times. The film’s supporting cast abounds with unknowns, at least in this country, including Tim Pigott-Smith, who portrays the heartless and evil Commander Creedy; his face will be memorable now. Perhaps the sole recognizable name on the supporting level is John Hurt, whose performance as the menacing High Chancellor is almost as shocking as seeing his face in such a large close-up. Apparently, the roaring splash in Hollywood made by the Matrix trilogy is still producing ripples in its every corner. The Wachowskis, armed with only their names, have turned their long-shot script adaptation of an unknown graphic novel into a reality. While one could argue that the Comic Book Movie Revolution has opened the pathway for films like this, one also cannot deny the sharp contrast in scope between a book like, say, Spiderman, and V for Vendetta. With Spiderman, we’ve had X-Men, Fantastic Four, Batman, The Hulk, and a slew of other names that everyone had heard long before they were films. The only exception to this rule might be The League of Extraordinary Gentleman, based on a comic also by Alan Moore. However, not only was this film’s popularity limited, but it was a bad film. Not so with “V”. A sharp knack for dialogue and a well-developed sense of style encompass the screenwriting aspect of the film. Director James McTeigue lends the poignant script by Larry and Andy Wachowski a big helping hand; his stunning visuals pull the sinister aspects of the comic book violently into the third dimension. I have to say, I am impressed by the solid representation in the film of V’s wordy monologues and catchy literary references; they define his character in the book, and I had accepted before I even entered the theater that they would be missing on screen. How wrong I was! His introduction at the beginning of the film is marked by a rant riddled with what must be dozens of “V” words. And how impressively is Evie’s character developed. Her struggle mirrors the struggle of the people, a fight to be free from the fear of the shadowy government. At one point early on in the movie, V breaks into the London television studio (there’s only one channel, at least for news, that everyone watches) and broadcasts his message to the public; he addresses them as one, showing sympathy for their current situation, but pointing out that they have only themselves to blame for the problems in their home. He deems them responsible for letting this happen to them, for allowing renegade leaders to put a stranglehold on the country with surveillance cameras and curfews and black lists. And he issues a call to them to strike back against the government that has so unjustly held them hostage. I have been strictly defensive against people who have claimed that parallels can be drawn between this film and the modern American political, ahem, situation. The novel was written long before our current leaders were in power, and the story doesn’t even take place in America. However, when I watch this scene, I can’t help noticing how well at least this isolated speech fits with the current situation in the United States. V’s message is one we should all heed; as he puts it, “People should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people.” V for Vendetta is the best film so far of 2006, and when it comes to DVD, it should not be missed.