V for Vendetta (Movie Review)

"He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither." ~Author Unknown (sometimes attributed to Benjamin Franklin)

"When we talk about war, we're really talking about peace." ~President Bush, post 9/11

BTN News Poppet: ...The terrorist known as V is believed dead.
Little Glasses Girl: Bollocks. ~V for Vendetta

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Sure, it's trite in parts. And the connections to the Bush administration are sometimes a bit overdone... but that doesn't mean I liked V for Vendetta (2005) any less.

Which is rare when you consider I'm seldom fond of films based on comic books. In fact, the same things that made Vendetta trite are, somewhat ironically, also the elements that helped make the film enjoyable for me. I could relate to it, given my own general distrust of the media and government.

And so it goes in the not-so-distant future of Vendetta, which takes place in a dystopian Great Britain. The British chancellor rises to power by promising to "protect" the people from the sort of disease, war-mongering, chaos and moral depravity that, we are told, reduced the American empire to mere shambles. Out of "fear" of succumbing to a similar fate, the British people relent to searches, curfews and bug-tapping "for their protection." They also become conditioned to government-manufactured (i.e. fabricated) news. And they digest it often enough that they fail to question it.

In this respect, Vendetta echoes Terry Gilliam's Brazil. And yet, I find that 1985 classic to be far more effective. I walked away from Brazil amused on one hand... and yet altogether amazed to realize its 1985 message was eerily apt for Operation Iraqi "Freedom" (and all that entails). Brazil is the sort of film that gets you to honestly question the world around you.

But back to Vendetta, which I enjoyed on a bit more superficial level.

Written by the Wachowski Brothers (also responsible for the Matrix trilogy), the screenplay was based on a comic book that satirized Margaret Thatcher's conservative government in the 1980s. And so, while the action of Vendetta still takes place in England, it seems clear that Larry and Andy Wachowski aren't after Thatcher:

From the mock "homeland security" division of government, to the Patriot Act-type breaches of civil liberties, the Bush-esque government painted by the Wachowski Brothers is one that spins the news as it sees fit to help "remind" the people of why they need the government (1984, anyone?). They create diseases so they can cure them. And when the "terrorist" known only as "V" wrecks havoc in London, the government applauds the heroic efforts of the police and military who swoop in to "save the day."

The catch being the terrorist "V" (Hugo Weaving) isn't a bad guy. He dons a Guy Fawkes mask and is intent on exposing the lies and inconsistencies of the ruling government. He takes the reluctant heroine Evey (Natalie Portman) under his proverbial wing, and for once I found myself not despising the comic book heroine. Whereas so many other comic book heroes — a la Superman, Batman and Spiderman — have "day jobs" and "day names" and conceal themselves with only a mask that covers half their face, "V" remains a mystery to everyone. I don't begrudge Evey, then, for failing to identify him as I did, say, Lois Lane.

But this is still a movie based on a comic book, and I never forgot that (perhaps still another reason for preferring Brazil). It is precisely that element, however, that may make Vendetta more accessible to a wider audience since, admittedly, some people don't have the patience for Gilliam films.

One final beef with Vendetta: much like this review, it pulled in too many different directions. There's a homosexual plot twist that I found to be as disappointing and cumbersome as the surprise "this-is-really-a-movie- about-euthansia-not-boxing" climax in Million Dollar Baby. I didn't thoroughly connect the totalitarian government's treatment of homosexuals (which was reminiscent of fascist Germany) to the main plot. It was more of a subplot that was tacked on... unless, of course, we are to believe "V" is actually a female ("V" for Trans'V'estite?)— a possibility I haven't ruled out, and one that lends credence to this diversion.