REVIEWS
TWO TAKES: V FOR VENDETTA
MOVIE
Rated R,132 minutes
I'm scared. I'm scared for the state of things in this world. Has our government engineered my fear to serve its purpose? It's frighteningly possible, and V For Vendetta is here to call us out on our fear and beg us to take action.
A welcome relief to an inane movie season, V For Vendetta shocks, challenges, confronts and disturbs.The film doesn't care. what your political beliefs may be. It has its message and it is going to shove it down your throat.
It is 2020 and a Palpatine- esque High Chancellor is in
control of a totalitarian British government. A masked freedom fighter/terrorist named V (Hugo Weaving) threats to blow up Parliament in a year's time if the High Canonical doesn't step down. Through dumb luck, a young woman (Natalie Portman) becomes intartwined in V's plans.
I recently saw White House Press Corp reporter Helen Thomas speak on campus. One of the questions she had was, where are the activists? This is exactly what V For Vendetta asks. The film paints what essentially are
terrorist acts in a positive light. We want V to succeed. We want the futuristic British population to stand up and fight back. But what the film really excels at is hammering home the fact that this "fictitious" situation is much too close to our own reality. An encompassing moment is when V sets up the most elaborate (an ultimately useless) domino show ever. Dominos start with one and then they all fall into place, a worthy metaphor for the way revolutions are started.
Sure, the film has its share of schmalzt (it is a comic book movie) but at the end you're so enraptured by its message and astounded by its visuals that the schmalz doesn't matter.
At one point, V says, "People shouldn't fear their governments, governments should fear their people." After watching this film, I
couldn't agree more.
★★★★
Lindsey Ramsey
"The oppressed should rebel and they will continue to rebel and raise disturbance until their civil rights are fully restored to them."
V for Vendetta rocks. It's a political thriller that actually has something to say. The film's brilliance is evident from Natalie Portman'serie and passionate opening monologue to the films explosive and touching finale. The year is 2020 and every facet of English society is ruled by a totalitarian British government that covers up its deadly messes. The government implements curfews, the Chancellor of England controls all media and gays are taken to concentration camps. England is like Nazi Germany and America's unity has been reduced to "the Colonies." Epidemics have covered the globe and England is infested with violence, intolerance and
repression
One of the film's many strengths is its mature and passionate cast. Natalie Portman plays a young civilian named Evie whose deceased* parents were political activists. Portman portrays Evie as a smart and tough young woman. Her Queen's English accent is too shabby either British actor Stephan Rea plays a curious and good-hearted detective employed by the dictatorial Chancellor The threatening Chancellor is effectively creepy throughout. Huge Weaving brilliantly portrays the film's puppetmaster, the ominous and passionate V.
Despite the mask Weaving gives the film's violante a charming wit, intelligence and, most of all, humanity V could have easily been a laughable, and flamboyant tunic without Weaving's sincerity. The relationship between Eric and V is never defined and it keeps you guessing. Despite its effective cast.
the film has some flaws. The first half is too complicated, trying to cover too many Stories and characters. However, during the second half the plot and characters all connect together seamlessly. V For Vendetta does a wonderful job examining the threats against personal freedoms and the actions that must be taken to reclaim them. It also reveals the true man behind the mask of V and an mortality
V for Vendetta is a violent, smart and sly action film with a bleeding heart. The film's potency lies in its messages that an idea is more important than the man who encampasses it and that a little revolution is a good thing.
★★★
Sarah Tucker
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