V for Vendetta

V for Vendetta

A movie based on a comic book (excuse me, I mean graphic novel) leads to reduced expectations in terms of plot and character development, but seeks to satiate the viewer’s appetite for action and special effects. Despite the fact that the screenplay was penned by the Wachowski brothers of “The Matrix” fame, the film actually disappoints in the action/special effects arena. The masked protagonist known as V does have a penchant for super-dextrous knife play, but the scenes in which this is displayed are few and far between. In addition, the signature slow-motion special effect invented by the Wachowski brothers is utilized towards a strictly comic-book look-and-feel. Perhaps this is appropriate, but I was hoping for more.

Curiously, the story is more concerned with character development and plot. The conflict is rooted in the struggle for basic human and political ideals, for individual freedom and democratic representation. Its topical storyline addresses some fundamental concerns of the twenty-first century. How much individual freedom should be traded for security? How much power should be given to government in its fight against terrorism? And when exactly does a terrorist become a freedom fighter?

The most successful comic books turned into movies have been those with a carefully-constructed mythology honed over many years of story-telling. Superman is exiled from a dying world and becomes the ultimate immigrant persona, Clark Kent, tasked with preserving the American way of life. Peter Parker’s selfish behaviour causes the death of his beloved uncle, spawning a reluctantly responsible and perversely vengeful Spiderman.

V for Vendetta lacks its own mythology, so it creates one from a mishmash of history and literature. The dystopian society is plucked from the pages of George Orwell’s 1984, while V wears a Guy Fawkes mask, the symbol of a historical political malcontent who also liked to scheme and play with gunpowder. The movie’s convoluted plot meanders through a fitful year of buildup, which seemed to be more about convincing Evie, the damsel in distress, that V’s plans are morally essential, if a bit crazy. Unfortunately, this involves a few months of torture, imprisonment and deprivation for Evie, carried out by the supposedly caring V. And the difference between V and the fascist government was what exactly? Well, at least, the actress who played Evie, Natalie Portman, enjoyed her head-shaving scene.

V also takes over a television studio to deliver a vehement volley of vociferous vocality, an inspired speech filled with V words, that definitely convinces the viewer that the character must have spent the last ten years writing and rehearsing the speech. One wonders how long the actor playing the part, Hugo Weaving, had to practice that soliloquy. Weaving’s performance is admirable given that his face is hidden behind a mask for the entire film. His voice is his only acting tool, and its disembodied delivery is an eerie and dominating feature.

The film’s climax features a thousand mask-wearing extras milling about, invoking a disconcerting echo of the third Matrix movie where a few hundred Agent Smiths (also played by Hugo Weaving) are present.