Disturbing Social Commentary that has only grown in validity

Rating: 10/10 (11 September 2005)

A Clockwork Orange was shockingly violent for its day. Our nerves have, of course, been hardened by the intervening thirty years of steadily mounting physical violence in cinema. As emotionally conventional as the R-Rated "Saving Private Ryan" may be, its opening D-day sequence would not have seen the light of day if the film had been released a quarter century earlier. Hence, young viewers seeking a thrill from "A Clockwork Orange" may be bitterly disappointed by the movie's tameness compared to the offerings of today.
However, for more sensitive viewers, "A Clockwork Orange" is still shocking because of its cold lack of empathy. The events of the film are told by the main character- Alex deLong- a teen of above-average intelligence, charm, and aggression. His emotional makeup lacks empathy for others and a sense of duty to society and fellow humans. He is as ruthless as he is capricious, cruel, and selfish. Yet he is likably good-humoured.
The society he lives in is one much like the America of today (And Britain of 1970)- a trash-littered concrete jungle defaced by graffiti, decay, and a sense of hopeless acquiescence. The totality of the society's moral bankruptcy becomes fully apparent only in the latter half of the film during and after Alex's "Conversion".
****************Spoilers begin******************
The film has two phases- the first depicting Alex's cruel coldness, and the second depicting the cruel coldness of the society that made him. progression from first to second phase occurs when he is imprisoned for murdering an old woman and tries to obtain early release by agreeing to participate in a new treatment process designed to render violent offenders harmless by conditioning them to be sickened by violent thoughts and acts. In what is a fairly famous scene in cinema, he is strapped in and forced to watch violent films while given drugs that induce feelings of nausea and despair. He emerges from treatment incapable of even contemplating violent acts without becoming acutely ill and is, thus, released as "Cured"- thereby freeing up a desperately needed bed in a terribly overcrowded prison system.
Just like Alex, we see the society in which he lives actuated by calculating selfishness. It does not care that Alex is not actually cured of his pathology- they only care that he seems safe enough to release from prison- thus forestalling the day when a new prison must be constructed and staffed. Unsurprisingly, the Film universe ends up being more swift and sure in justice than the real one. Soon after Alex is released, both Alex and his society are punished for their selfish deeds- Alex is badly hurt when he is attacked and unable to defend himself. Those who made him that way are forced to de-condition him, provide medical care, and leave him at large so to limit the political fallout of their failed experiment.
***********End Spoilers*************
The use of a Russian-inspired slang by Alex and his fellow hoodlums ("droogs") is incidental to the plot of the film. It was much more important in the original Anthony Burgess novel. I am not so sure what this slang achieved in the film. It certainly doesn't facilitate viewer efforts to follow the plot, however it's not much of an inhibition and DOES remind us that Alex is different from us and there's no reason to expect him to share our sensibilities. Though he's obviously an evildoer, his life experience is so different that we can't say that his personality was, inherently, evil or merely distorted by life experience in a cold and uncaring society. Of course, that sort of relativism won't do you any good if you stood between him and his next goal!
The film is, as is standard for a Stanly Kubrick film, well photographed and tightly edited. The film has a vitality that his later films lack and should be justly thought of a one of his greatest along with Doctor Strangelove. It is an excellent introduction to Kubrick and, simply put, good entertainment provided the viewer is not put off by the "'70's" influence in the music and settings. Malcom McDowell fans should see him put in one of his best performances ever as the lead character Alex. The ironic detachment common to Kubrick serves this film particularly well since it so accurately conveys the mindset of many of the film's chief characters- Alex as well as the bureaucrats who try to reshape him for their own convenience.
To me, the film is one of the greatest films I have ever seen (in the top 25) because it is so entertaining with it's well-photographed and well-edited action, witty and engaging dialogue, and, yet, it is an excellent and unsentimental study of the frightening consequences of a human society that is trying to live without morality or genuine compassion. Because of it's humor and detachment, the viewer is not emotionally overloaded by the terrible prospects set forth in the movie and can see plainly and without hysteria the similarities between the movie's fictional world and our own.