Meet one of the most deviant characters in cinema history

Rating: 10/10 (17 April 2002)

I read somewhere that the late Stanley Kubrick was reputed to be against conventional and repressive forms of establishment.If that was so, then I believe that he potently expressed it in "A Clockwork Orange."
Based on Anthony Burgess' 1962 novel, the film introduces us to one of the most violent, amoral and deviant characters in cinema history---Alexander (but of all the film characters, protagonists and antagonists alike, whom I've encountered so far, he's the only one who has registered so strongly in my mind;and Malcolm McDowell's realistic and complex portrayal has greatly helped in making that happen).
I can't forget the opening shot where, while we begin to hear his introductory voice-over narration, we see Alex, together with his fellow "droogies," sitting idly on the floor and staring sharply at us, as the camera slowly pulls back and then we notice marble (or is it wax?) figures in strangely provocative poses.It serves both as an invitation and a warning:we're invited to take a peek into a "new friend's" visionary milieu, but then be prepared for the consequences.
At first, one can't help but be disgusted at the atrocities---devilish and whimsical at best---that Alex and his gang have committed (they maul an old and sick beggar, involve themselves in a violent gang fight, barge into a quiet household, tie up the couple, torture the man and rape the woman).Alex even disdains his family and entices women (total strangers to him) into sex as if he were asking them for a dance in a party (and this might be so, if one is to have his own "reading" of the outrageous scene where Alex does sex with two pretty ladies in fast motion and to the tune of Rossini's "Overture to Wilhelm Tell").Such kind of "rebellious" attitude of Alex may strike one as being done out of youthful capriciousness---at best, a mere show just to satisfy some self-serving ends;nowhere is to be found any justifiable or rational basis at all.
But not until the film reaches its critical point where Alex murders (with the use of a "phallic" furniture) a woman (who's fascinated with cats) when the latter aggressively refuses his advances does one start to rethink his/her thoughts.You have to see for yourself how Kubrick manipulates the narrative from this point on for the viewers to have a "change of attitude" toward Alex.
After that, one can already make sense of Alex' "rebellious" attitude, for the conflict has become clear:it's Alex vs. all the conventional and (as it turns out) dubious forms of establishment---family, government, mass media, education and state.They have laid down the standards on how one must think, feel and act within a given system, but once it is achieved, they are at a loss as to what to make of the individual---to have a firm grip on him or to leave him out in the open---leading them in the end to play the game according to the rules set by the individual himself.
And in Alex' case, as the state's program of reforming criminals and producing pliant citizens will be put to shame because of the former's failed suicide, the people concerned are now willing to fall on their knees before Alex---let Alex be what he is."Now, I was finally cured" has become a classic line.