C for Controversy-A Film Review

V for Vendetta, based on Alan Moore’s iconic graphic novel of the same name, is a chilling tale set in the not-too-distant future of 2030’s England. London has become a highly controlled society under a fascist regime, where a dreadful totalitarian government rules with the slogan “Strength Through Unity, Unity Through Faith.” Citizens have been conditioned to be servile to Chancellor Sulter (played by John Hurt, who also appeared as Winston Smith in the film adaptation of Ninety Eighty-Four), a sinister autocrat who believes civil rights and freedoms are needless luxuries that threaten a stable society. Ergo, strenuous curfews are in order, citizens are monitored a la Big Brother, and both literature and music are proscribed (and for some reason, even mundane commodities like real butter have become scarce).

Evey Hammond, portrayed competently by Natalie Portman, is a young and beautiful clerk working at the government’s brainwashing television network, and is rescued from the brutal secret police by a vigilante in a Guy Fawkes mask named V. V (Hugo Weaving) is a bold, daredevil-swordsman who aims to pursue his vendetta, leading the people of London to revolt against their government. Evey unavoidably links herself with V and together as an unlikely duo, they conduct carefully planned domino-effect schemes such as dispatching key personnel in the regime to send a message and urging the citizens to rise by taking over the city’s airwaves. An effective technique employed in the film (as in the book) is that V’s face is never revealed to the audience, keeping a continuous aura of suspense as he puts on a Phantom of the Opera dance with his protégé.

Despite such faithful aspects of the film, Moore has denounced the screenplay, as he believes the film’s ending is not true to the one he always envisioned. However, with the panels from the novel still fresh in mind, I feel the film at least did a marvelous job at capturing the original graphics and even certain lines with the exact wording. As the film was brought to the screen by the producers of the Matrix trilogy, much homage can be seen throughout the film. For example, in a key scene when Evey awakens in the rain, the way the raindrops fall onto her shaven head mirrors the celebrated visual effects of the “bullet time” scene in the first Matrix film. Not to mention, when V fights with his aligned adversaries towards the end of the film, the slow-motion sword fight—which paired with the swishing-blade sounds is a highlight in the film—is almost identical to the Keanu Reeves versus the Agents duels (without the imitation Kung Fu, of course).

Natalie Portman’s pre-Black Swan acting does the job and was certainly a breakthrough for her at the time; however, it is far from a stellar performance. I found her English accent distracting, and find it surprising that she beat several other notable actresses to get the part. On a more positive note, her portrayal of Evey is refreshing to see when compared to the overly vulnerable Evey in the novel. Hugo Weaving’s portrayal of V, on the other hand, is impeccably done; his deep yet inviting voice is what I have always imagined V would have while reading the novel.

Overall, I can see why Alan Moore is not content with this film adaptation of his beloved novel. The producers’ strategy was to market the work as an action thriller, which as a result made the film overly sensationalized as opposed to the psychological thriller that Moore had envisioned. The storytelling and occasional action scenes successfully captivate the audience, but as a lackluster action film with only a few truly impressive scenes, it ultimately fails to do its source of inspiration justice.