(Contains spoilers!)
This is a political movie, but don’t mistake it for a commentary on present-day American politics. Nor should viewers mistake this film as a glorification of terrorism. Instead, “V for Vendetta” is a protest against too much government and excessive reliance on government by the governed.
I haven’t read the graphic novel upon which this film is based, but I’ve read that the novel was written as a slam against the conservative regime of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who led a conservative resurgence in her country at the same time President Ronald Reagan was doing the same in the United States.
What I saw in the theater, however, was the story of a man motivated to overthrow an oppressive government. His motives were complex and not necessarily pure. This man, who calls himself “V,” was driven by hate and a need for revenge against government officials who conducted terrible experiments on him and others.
In almost Batman-like fashion, V remakes himself into a superhero, becoming expert at martial arts, knife fighting and bomb-making. He uses his new skills to murder those who conducted experiments on him.
At the same time, however, he is also driven to rally a nation of people who had allowed themselves to become sheep to a dictatorial shepherd. He launches his anti-government campaign by blowing up the UK’s Central Criminal Court, known as The Old Bailey on Guy Fawkes Day, which is the anniversary of a 1605 plot to blow up the English Parliament building.
V manages to take over the principal Britiish television network to broadcast his exhortation against oppression and to promise that he would blow up Parliament on the same day the following year.
A young woman named Evey (E-V, and portrayed by Natalie Portman) encounters V early in the movie when he rescues her from the lascivious clutches of a group of government “fingermen.” Evey’s parents, it turns out, also were victims of same government experiments conducted on V, but they did not survive. Since her parents’ abductions, she has lived her life in fear.
The beginning of her relationship with V — part romantic and part instructive — begins Evey’s transformation into a courageous revolutionary, something that V can never truly become because vengeance is his principal motive.
There are some “coincidences” that are left unexplained, except for several cryptic comments that “there are no coincidences.”
For V’s plan to be successful, he also needs to convert a government insider, in this case a police inspector named Finch, played expertly by Stephen Rea. Finch is an incorruptible police office who knows the government is corrupt. V, and finally Evey, convince him that even he must take a stand.
Hugo Weaving, who played Agent Smith in “The Matrix” trilogy and Elrond in “The Lord of the Rings,” is V, and delivers almost all of his entire performance disguised by an unmoving Guy Fawkes mask. (He is maskless in one scene, but his face is hidden in shadow.)
For fans of special effects, “V for Vendetta” has some excellent fight scenes, and the scenes during which buildings are demolished are impressive for their grandeur and the accompanying music.
In general, the film’s dialogue is a weakness and occasionaly comes across as hyperbole rather that merely thoughtful. Revolutionaries, I suppose, must sometimes express themselves that way.
Fans of dark, action films will enjoy “V for Vendetta.”