V for Vendetta is vivaciously victorious
In the late 1980s, Alan Moore and David Lloyd wrote the graphic novel V for Vendetta. Luckily for moviegoers, the writer / director tandem of Andy and Larry Wachowski picked it up and gave Moore's work the Hollywood treatment.
The original release date for the film version of V for Vendetta was actually Nov. 5 of last year, to coincide with Guy Fawkes Night, a British holiday commemorating the attempt to burn the British Parliament in 1605. The film was pushed to March when Warner Brothers, the film's distributor, cited the need for more post production work. But it's rumored to be that the company did not want to risk a backlash, given the bombings in London that summer.
In the Wachowskis' first film since the Matrix sequels, they actually only wrote the screenplay and handed the directorial reigns over to James McTeigue, a long-time assistant director who worked on films including the Matrix trilogy and the recent Star Wars prequels. Ironically, McTeigue plucked his stars from those sagas'; Benchwarmers now turned superstars.
Receiving top billing for this project was the scene-stealing actress from the Star Wars prequels, Natalie Portman, who plays the part of Evey Hammond, a clerical worker for the British Television Network in a futuristic London. We are introduced to her in the film as she is trying to avoid detection in the city's dark alleys during the enforcement of a strict curfew.
She is spotted by a group of police officers, and under the threat of being taken into custody, resigns herself to being abused by the trio of officers. Before anything can happen, a cloaked figure wearing a Guy Fawkes mask and carrying a convenient set of throwing knives appears from the shadows to take out Evey's assailants.
This masked man, introduced to the audience simply as "V," is played to perfection by Hugo Weaving, who may best be remembered as Agent Smith in the Matrix movies. After being saved by V, Evey follows her rescuer to a first-class seat for his personal "explosive" tribute to the Nov. 5 holiday. Watching in horror and fear, Evey realizes that she has gotten herself in to something bigger than she could have ever expected.
V follows his display by making a threatening declaration to again attack the government in one year's time. Furious and fearful, High Chancellor Sutler, played wonderfully by John Hurt, orders the government to track down the perpetrator of the terrorist action and the female accomplice before they can strike again.
The film goes on to jump between V and Evey's relationship and the exploration of V's past through an investigation by the government's lead detective, Eric Finch, played by Stephen Rea, best known for his starring role in The Crying Game. Finch, who is cautious of his government to begin with, becomes more so as he digs deeper and deeper into V's past, learning quite a lot that the government is keeping from their citizens.
V for Vendetta has been publicly condemned and has been the subject of recent controversy in the press, with some critics citing that the film condones and even promotes terrorism. The negative press did not deter audiences or reviewers, however; the film has received critical acclaim and is the number one film in America.
Quite simply, the public has gotten it right. V for Vendetta is one of the best theatrical experiences in recent memory and the word is that the IMAX version is even better. Filled with stellar leading performances, V is an emotionally relevant story that keeps you glued to your seat. It has colorfully excellent cinematography, and one of the best ending sequences in recent memory. The final verdict is that V for Vendetta is better than good, it is the first "must see" film of 2006.
Grade: B+
Originally published on March 21, 2006
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