Disturbing

Rating: Null/10 (3 February 1999)

A Clockwork Orange is one of the most disturbing, yet interesting pieces of film ever to come out of the mind of Stanley Kubrick. Here he shows us a society that is overrun with street punks, and they pretty much rule the night. As we go along with Alex and his Droogs on their nightly missions that include rape, gang fights, home invasion and car stealing we are repelled by the violence and horror that these men cause, but at the same time we are pulled in by the charm that Alex seems to generate. When he is caught and sent to prison, we sympathize with him. Then when his free will is taken away, we sympathize with him even more. Very strange considering this was a man who liked rape and violence. Kubrick's main theme in the movie is free will. Once free will is taken away, you are no longer a man. When Alex regains his free will at the end, we revel in his victory. What an image to show the return of Alex's free will. Him and a naked woman writhing around in a tub while people dressed in early 19th century clap and the end of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony plays. If nothing else, Kubrick sure knows how to pick images.