V FOR VENDETTA Is The Most Dangerous Film Of The Year - Page 2

Great job, Devin!

Wonderful editorial, Devin. It makes me sad for my generation, who don't seem to be fucking angry enough at the way we're being gradually acclimated to lack of liberty.

My thoughts exactly.

Lack of liberty? Who cares! Have you SEEN the low, low prices at Wal-Mart?

Nice Article- Here's my review

Nice article and it does seem a bit absurd that you can't post an official review. I saw it at Berlinale a week or so ago and sent my review to AICN. Thought you guys might want to take a gander.

Hi Guys,

Might remember me from AICN chat. I'm the bitter, angry, yet hilarious one that has practically everyone on ignore.

Currently on my last night in Berlin suffering from a stinking cold brought by on too much alcohol and the crazy nightlife here....so bear in mind the gunk I'm about to give you comes from a snotty nose and serious memory loss.

Saw you'd posted a review of V for Vendetta from the premiere here at the Berlinale and although I had to catch it at a smaller venue some way out from the centre (the Urania cinema for those Plantist partisans) I thought I'd send in my thoughts. I'll make it short to curb that which is already ramble.

Now I'm a huge fan of the Alan Moore source and have rather Sickeningly allowed myself to get caught up in the internet hype surrounding this film: thought the trailers were fantastic; the poster work imaginative and the reviews from BNAT promising. Now just before I left (yes, I'm rambling, blah, I have snot running down my nose and I can hear drinking in the hostel bar what seems like miles beneath me so deal with it) AICN's, own Moriarty suggested I calm down a little to avoid disappointment......

Alas Mr Moriarty, it was too late and I am now suffering even more than I should be.

V for Vendetta is not a fantastic film. It's not going to make you poo little Che's to start a revolution with. It's a flawed clumsy superhero film masquerading as some arthouse polemic. It's almost impossible to not talk about the Moore book when explaining why this is such an uneven film and so apologies for people who can't read or have an imagination.

In the opening the The Wachowski brothers have almost written a dual origin story for the masked freedom fighter 'V' incorporating Guy Fawkes that just seems to reek of heavy handedness. What fascinated me about V was that he seemed still a cipher even after parts of his origin were revealed. Here we are spiked in the face with allusions to the 5th of November and the Gunpowder Plot whether figuratively or in dialogue form.

Strangely enough what follows the opening is a rather brilliant scene surrounding a tv broadcast, juxtaposing V and Natalie Portman's character Evey laying out some of the background to the story concisely and cinematically. Each edit reinforces their connection and this is repeated later in the film. It's subtle, artistic and sucks you in. But this concise and well paced cinema isn't maintained throughout the film. What's worse it jumps back and forth, mixing this subtlety with moments that lay on the Wachowski's message of dehumanisation by corrupt powers so thickly that the narrative falters.

It's certainly a brave move by the studio and it's interesting to see how accomplished a work it is from the hands of a first time director, but it's interesting to note that the moments that completely worked and exhilarated at times were those taken almost word for word from the book. Evey's incarceration, the Valerie correspondence and the Larkhill diary, all fantastic to see onscreen and one moment slightly changed from the book, parelleling Evey's and V's awakening, one in the rain, and one surrounded by fire, as a truly stirring score by Dario Marianelli plays is fantastic.

Hugo Weaving and Stephen Fry stand out in a cast of memorable and strong peformances. Weaving doing incredible work to emote behind the porcelain, the voice both chilling and avuncular in turn. It's thanks to Weaving that an almost hideous monologue from V doesn't ruin the character from the off. It's a nuanced performance that has to delight in language and it's fortunate that we have such a charasmatic performer to do it. Fry in a supporting role rather saddled with exposition, is great too, providing some nice moments of comedy along with one of the more shocking moments of the film. Portman on the other hand gives us a performance much like the film. Moments of such power where you almost forget it was performance, crossed with scenes of almost uncomfortable and wooden dialogue. Again, I'm not a huge fan of the script so this could just be that, but there was something about her accent at times that just didn't seem to work.

I think where the film really unfolds and possibly tarnishes the overall film for me is the ending. Every film needs a decent ending to stand any chance with an audience. And with Vendetta it's almost as if the Wachowskis felt like they were losing some illusory argument, and stamped on the gas. The moments of subtle metaphor or image start to lose out to the exposition and the heavy hand and where one we'd had punchy, relevant action, we now have bullet time, blood fests that might be trying to show the speed of 'V', but leave him as some omnipotent superhero in a black cape.

In fact this sudden turn into hyper fantasy seems to be confirmed in the final moments as hundreds of little Vs flood the screen. It's almost as if the Brothers had forgotten 'V's own dialogue only moments before. As V asks Evey to pull the switch on the train that will destroy Parliament he proclaims that it is she and those outside that will mould the world after that night, not he. And yet it is V who has moulded everyone outside in his own image. It is this clumsy, inconsistent tone that ultimately leaves the film a fading ember rather than a spark to ignite debate.

As an addendum to my review- I found it funny that for a film that talks about freedom the idea of thousands of Vs running around slightly ruins the whole freedom issue doesn't it? I can understand, as someone did in AICN TB, that you might call breaking down identity a sign of freedom, but they're not really losing identity- they're taking on Vs. Anyway, tell me what you think.

Encouraging words, Devin. It's encouraging to see more and more films of sociological/political relevance being created and given wide release. These films do have an impact in that they engage the audience into thinking about issues in ways they might not otherwise have considered. This is one way public perception can be influenced through the dissemination of popular media and/or art.

Politicly Hardcore Column! Congrat.

I agree with you on almost all counts Devin. (Whoa, never thought I'd admit to that...) I have to disagree on the PC comments though, because freedom of speech is freedom of speech, whether it be criticizing the government over the war or talking about the drawbacks of affermative action.

You can read the bewildering, near-crazed reactions to the film at Libertas through this thread: http://chud.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89319

And I liked your article, Devin. Good stuff. I wrote something similar for Collider.com a month back or so.

Fantastic article, Devin. I have been looking forward to seeing V for Vendetta for quite sometime now. It will be interesting to see how the masses react to this film.

I think a major difference is that people who cry foul of people decrying pc terms regarding race or homosexuality aren't crying for it to be illegal. However people that paint "terroristic" sentiiments as treason are. At best, the point is a double standard, at worst it's lopsided hypocricy.

LOL thats exactly what people will think when they walk out of the theater. I have hopes for this movie after reading Devins article (which rocked!) that it will change the way people think. But in all actuality, these people (15 - 21 yrs) wont see it as anyting more then a movie.

Yeah, who knows what sort of impact the film will have? The best anyone can hope for is for the movie to be seen by as many people as possible. Like with Passion of the Christ. I don't think political movies have as big of cultural impact anymore since they're usually preaching to the choir and ignored by those who would disagree.

One of your best pieces of writing, Dev, and that's saying something.

As for this whole kids issue, it's the adults who have fucked this world up. The tough thing about being a kid, as Johnny Cash said, is that there are no easy choices any more. But maybe that's not a bad thing.

Let's be clear-Devin is extremely myopic in who he attacks. I'm all for upsetting, agitating, protesting, and disobeying Republican and conservative laws. But Devin demands answers from them for all the wrong questions. Get people asking the wrong questions, and you never have to worry about the answers. It certainly works for Republicans.

And about privacy-Democrats are slightly better than Republicans. Slightly. Let's not get carried away here.

I had great hopes for Fahrenheit 9/11, I really thought it would make a difference. But Bush got voted in again anyway, so I am cynical as to how much attention people really pay to these kinds of things. That said, I really hope the films hits home with the audience, and now I know Hugo Weaving is behind the mask, I'm looking forward to it even more.

jesus Devin, you've been on fire lately. between this and the Paradise Now piece you've created some of your best editorial work to date. this is the kind of thing that makes me love CHUD so much more than any other movie site.

I think that movie's ultimate failing was that it was content to preach to the choir.

Devin, you wrote a helluva article, man. Agree or disagree, I thought it was incredibly well written. That I happen to agree about your broader points (since I haven't seen the movie, I can' comment on some of what you said) is besides the point.

You just never know. One person, ONE, is all it takes for an idea to take root. Once they believe, they can recruit, enroll, whatever - others in that idea. And I guarentee you that while some (perhaps even many) teens will just look at this as another comic flick, some WON'T.

And that could make a huge difference.

Listen, we routinely underestimate youth in this country. Yes, there are fucktards. Yes, there are myopic, self-involved emo kids. And yes there are kids who just don't - or aren't ready to - think about things on a deeper level.

But there are - and this is ALWAYS true - kids who will stop and think beyond that.

You want to know why Farenhiet 9-11 didnt change a thing? It's because it was way to far to the left. The opening of the movie pretty much said Fox News changed the 2000 election all by themselves his shock tactics dont resonate with people in the middle because it was blantently leftist. People in the middle dont respond to extremes which is why Bill Mahr can do all the joking he wants, he will never effect a middle thinking person, just like O'Reily will never effect a middle thinking person.

V, however, is a much more veiled message, it comes from the Matrix dudes, people will go see it unawares of its message, and THAT is how you get people to get to thinking about these things, catch them when they are off-gaurd, make them look at what they believe from a critical perspective. No one will do that if they already have their "Armor" on.

You're thinking maybe V will suckerpunch the conservatives? One can only hope.

It's probably just me, but I'm much more interested in how this movie is going to be viewed overseas in places like China than in the US reaction to the film. I think that's the potentially more interesting story.

The best thing about the original story is that it's very ambiguous and requires thought. V is not totally good nor totally evil. Arguably the second most sympathetic character in the story, Finch, works for the government. If those grays are brought out in the movie, then it will be a success.

...That was an interesting and well-written article, but Devin pulls too many punches. The tone of Devin's writing leaves me with no clue as to his philosophical or political leanings. Quit beating around the bush, tell us what you think!

This might be the rare movie that I will avoid reading a review for before I see it, just so I can see how my reaction to the movie differs from the various reviewers.

About that Fox News review: Friedman's less a critic than a gossip columnist. His reviews are always a little too Jackie Harvey to take seriously.

Great piece, Devin. I like how palpable your feelings are regarding the gradual tightening of the vice on our society. Apathy because of our inability to make any change seems to be inescapable.

I had very low expectations for this film, but your piece gives me a bit of hope.

Ah, the Dark Thatcher years. I remember when the dread Iron Lady uh, that is she uh, what did Thatcher do besides kick Argentina's ass?

I'm not sure this movie will have the sort of apopletic rage that previous "liberal" issue movies did. It's glossy and slick and futuristic, and that usually stems any sort of real reaction from people because it's dismissed as science-fiction.

Will conservatives latch on to it they way they did with Brokeback? I hope so, because they ended up looking very foolish after Brokeback found economic success despite being part of the "homosexual agenda." VENDETTA is the first movie people seem genuinely excited for in 2006 (normal people too, not geeks.) and it should do well.

I've read a couple of reviews that point out that, for a movie that's being positioned as a blockbuster, it's distinctly lacking in typical action set-pieces. I for one find that really encouraging, because the graphic novel isn't filled with action and that's not really what the character's about. V struck me as more of a manipulator, which brings a certain moral ambiguity to the story, if you question whether his tactics are all that different to the indoctrination of the regime he's seeking to topple.

I was pretty skeptical about this movie to begin with, but so far I've only heard positive things about it.

Well, for one she actively considered the notion of eradicating homosexuality as an abstract concept, brutalised trade unions by getting together her own private army of white supremacist thugs to kick their heads in, fabricated a war for the sake of bolstering her popularity, among other things.

Still, a great gal!

Wow

Devin,

I respect you and enjoy your writing even if you take every cheap shot at the GOP you can muster. I'm a conservative (not a Bush fan, because I do agree the war was a mistake, but I'm still a Republican) and can't wait to see this film.

Anyway I'm a big fan of the original work and think the trailers look fantastic.

You are ABSOLUTELY dreaming if you think this movie will have any effect on anyone other than loonies who think America is turning Facist (which mind you, Facism more closely resembles Liberal ideals such as larger centralized government). The very notion that V for Vendetta is going to cause some mass liberal revolution and sway the Country to the left is the reason why your party is so out of touch with the majority of this Nation.

It is an entertaining story based on a comic book about a guy in a goofy mask. It is a movie (why does everyone in Hollywood think movies make the world go round), no more no less. If a highly successful Fahrenheit 9/11, that was more or less a propaganda piece to get Bush out of office, failed, there is little hope film can really change the way those in the middle think (at least when pertaining to politics).

Since this is undoubtedly better made than Aeon Flux I'll give you a little more credit than the big guy at AICN, but Knowles said in his Flux review that the Republicans would be horrified of the film (much the same tone of your column here).

Of course no one in the news media even noticed it. I predict much the same with V. Sure you'll find some far righters bitching, but this is the INTERNET and that is the same as how you find so much solace in your fellow posters here (just because internet people agree with you doesn't mean you are in a majority).

If you really think that America is evolving into an Alan Moore comic book then again...just shows you how out of touch the dems are with reality.

Hope you can take an opposing view point without getting too offended, I do enjoy your work here at Chud.

Also you guys are seriously blowing Conservative backlash against Brokeback out of proportion. I work in Washington, DC with conservatives and the thing wasn't even mentioned in our circles. I hear its a good movie. Nobodies panties are in a wad over it.

And O'Reilly barely mentioned it unlike some others on this board seem to have claimed.

Man, those FACISTS, all they do is turn the other cheek.

I will be following your career with great interest.

What are you referencing with "In Hoc" Carnivale or Sigma Chi?

As far as I can tell, Devin isn't a Democrat. Of course, I just gathered that from reading his article.

Pazuzu, Facism isn't the left, it's the right. Where you're correct is that in the furthest regions of the political spectrums, followers on opposite sides share more interests than they do differences (which is why it's more a political circle than a line). Both ends of the spectrum lead to Totalitarianism, with the only difference being the way they got there.

Well I was going to see this anyway just to watch N. Portman get her head shaved (a little fetish of mine), but now I'm really going to watch it, and try to soak up the anti-fascist message. I'm sure the Christian conservatives will squeal the loudest about this film. Fascism, it seems to me, is the product of fear; sometimes real, but more often imagined. Where is imaginary fear more at home than in a church?

For those wondering about the action elements, there are about three scenes that could be considered action; one in the opening, one around the beginning of the second act and one in the climax. They are all brief.

There are several suspense oriented scenes in addition to the above mentioned, but mostly this is a film of ideas.

Good editorial Devin.

Again, this is sci-fi film by the guys who did the Matrix. Christian Conservatives won't notice this film. The few who may say something will be farrr right loons (yes I am willing to admit both sides have their fair share of loonies) who are not at all representative of the culture of the majority of Christin Conservatives.

You should learn more about fascism and liberalism before making erroneous claims like that.

He works in Washington, Pop Zeus. I think he knows better than you.

Dev - I hate to ask but I really dont want to be taken out of this film when Im watching it - does Portman affect an english accent and is it any good?

My god this graphic novel is incredible.

Just incredible

LOL, that would be scary if anyone ever said that in all seriousness.

Yes, she affects an accent. It's pretty good, not perfect.

While there is a bunch I might take issue with in that little post of yours, I wonder exactly how the above is true.

Just curious about what you mean, exactly.

Other than that, you're certainly welcome to your opinion and I think you have some valid points.

Still, while film can't always 'change the world' it can help change along.

Aside: I love how the left AND the right love to throw 'fascist' around. It makes me wonder if anyone knows what it means anymore, or if it's just trendy.

I'll level in on the whole "youth" issue (although Andrew pretty much summed it up perfectly).

Having graduated from high school last year, I'd say that that was the environment where my political beliefs started coming to fruition, since high school essentially acted as a sort of mini-totalitarian state in itself. I remember it being especially hard not to protest or debate about events that were happening in our country at that time. 2004 was an excellent year given that I had turned 18 and finally got a chance to vote.

And while we're on the subject, I can commend Fahrenheit 9/11 for doing something for my generation that I never thought it would do: it provoked conversation, be it positive or negative. That, at least, shows progress (or perhaps I'm too optimistic).

The point? Probably nothing too important but I figured this thread could've used some perspective. There's always going to be someone with an anti-intellectual binge but I think it's getting progressively harder, especially in the wake of recent events (*cough* illegal wiretapping *cough*), to not care about something that directly affects you as well as the rest of the nation.

As for V for Vendetta, I think I'm more excited than ever. Great article, Devin.

Pazuzu: The Exorcist II: Heretic?

Great article, Devin. Happy to see that V for Vendetta keeps the graphic novel's message intact without boiling into a mindless action flick, which it is unfortunately being marketed as. I also enjoyed the Dead Kennedys reference, which was used particularly well.

I think they were very smart here, they marketed an idea movie as an action movie therefore guaranteeing that it would slip below Conservative radar.

Hence the Fox movie review, which probably means the reviewer sent an intern to review the movie for him/her. Fox Media will do follow up reviews, negative ones through their alternate media outlets, if word comes down from Murdock that that it needs a shunning and a gimping.

Goddamn brilliant review, D. Frickin' right on.

I've been yearning to see this movie for what seems like forever. And Devin you juxtaposed the theme and issues presented in "V" right along with real world issues seamlessly and expertly. Just massive kudos for you. I've known that due to the theme of "V", I'd want to see it. Really bad.

I don't know about the rest of you, but the thought of having to live in a one-party rule, fascist state pisses me off. Ain't scared, tired of being played the "fear game" by this group of war profiteers. And I certainly hope that this movie sends a wake up call to people. Both conservatives and liberals alike - our country has been hijacked by extremists.

Ah shit, but maybe I'm over reacting. Heh, somehow I don't think so. In the end, if this movie does wake people (and our slumbering fourth estate), up it'll be sad that a movie had to do it. Even if the movie is frickin' amazing.