What's so great about V FOR VENDETTA?
Graphic novels are the rage, in all shapes and forms. Written back in the eighties, when Margaret Thatcher was, to many Britons, the equivalent of Satan, VENDETTA was a commentary on her conservative government--and not a flattering one.
Cut to the present: Golly gee, which government might be commented upon NOW by a film like VENDETTA? I wonder....
And yet that potential mine-field was lightly tripped over in this fine film. Rather than clumsy Bush-bashing, VENDETTA does a nice job of making the faults of the oppressive government in the tale JUST absurd enough as to avoid offence; just wild enough to hold our interest as "V" brings down a British administration bent on subjugating its people thru censorship and intimidation.
Aside from a possible conspiracy-theorist solution for 9/11 (in the film, the government kills its own people so it can, later on, seem heroic by saving others), it's a timely, entertaining film, filled with action and thoughtful issues to raise it above nearly all other recent graphic-novel/comic-book adaptations.
It's helped by having Hugo Weaving as the Guy Fawkes-masked anti-hero, "V." Weaving is wonderful; a basically vengeaful, evil man who does horrific things in a cause that he feels is just, and yet...and yet he pulls it off with elan, creating a completely sympathetic character who eventually wins over the audience. I never thought I'd be in favor of a man blowing up the Houses of Parliament to bring down the British Government, but in the world of this film, I'd bet that most viewers eventually find themselves rooting for him to do it.
Natatlie Portman, I'm afraid, is the film's weakest link. For one, she's so tiny and youthful that I'm afraid she doesn't make much of a visual impact--you basically want to pull her off the screen, give her a hug, and send her off to camp. And I don't care how much she practiced, she can't replicate an English accent with enough veracity to avoid making every line she utters a distraction.
But the rest of the cast, as is Weaving, is flawless; the acting a cut above every other film of this genre that I've yet seen. The visual style of the film is captivating, particularly in its action sequences involving "V." The music is stirring; hell, even the prologue--a brief history of Guy Fawkes--is unusually well done.
Yep, I liked this film. Can ya' tell?
Graphic novels are the rage, in all shapes and forms. Written back in the eighties, when Margaret Thatcher was, to many Britons, the equivalent of Satan, VENDETTA was a commentary on her conservative government--and not a flattering one.
Cut to the present: Golly gee, which government might be commented upon NOW by a film like VENDETTA? I wonder....
And yet that potential mine-field was lightly tripped over in this fine film. Rather than clumsy Bush-bashing, VENDETTA does a nice job of making the faults of the oppressive government in the tale JUST absurd enough as to avoid offence; just wild enough to hold our interest as "V" brings down a British administration bent on subjugating its people thru censorship and intimidation.
Aside from a possible conspiracy-theorist solution for 9/11 (in the film, the government kills its own people so it can, later on, seem heroic by saving others), it's a timely, entertaining film, filled with action and thoughtful issues to raise it above nearly all other recent graphic-novel/comic-book adaptations.
It's helped by having Hugo Weaving as the Guy Fawkes-masked anti-hero, "V." Weaving is wonderful; a basically vengeaful, evil man who does horrific things in a cause that he feels is just, and yet...and yet he pulls it off with elan, creating a completely sympathetic character who eventually wins over the audience. I never thought I'd be in favor of a man blowing up the Houses of Parliament to bring down the British Government, but in the world of this film, I'd bet that most viewers eventually find themselves rooting for him to do it.
Natatlie Portman, I'm afraid, is the film's weakest link. For one, she's so tiny and youthful that I'm afraid she doesn't make much of a visual impact--you basically want to pull her off the screen, give her a hug, and send her off to camp. And I don't care how much she practiced, she can't replicate an English accent with enough veracity to avoid making every line she utters a distraction.
But the rest of the cast, as is Weaving, is flawless; the acting a cut above every other film of this genre that I've yet seen. The visual style of the film is captivating, particularly in its action sequences involving "V." The music is stirring; hell, even the prologue--a brief history of Guy Fawkes--is unusually well done.
Yep, I liked this film. Can ya' tell?
posted by I. Michael Koontz | 7:20 AM
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