Hilarious Black Comedy

Rating: 9/10 (21 November 2005)

If ever there was an over-rated Kubrick film, for my money, "Clockwork Orange" is probably it. I may be unfairly judging it because so many things since its initial release from any number of films glorifying violence to similarly themed bloody satires like "Natural Born Killers" or "Fight Club" to the pop phenomenon of gangster-rap have repeated the same message. What I prefer to do is view the film as I think it should be, a brilliant black comedy.
There is maddening genius on display here amongst the anarchy in Kubrick's film adaptation of the controversial novel. From the quasi-futuristic set designs to the hilarious speech of the characters to the outlandish costumes, "Clockwork Orange" presents a future that doesn't seem that far-fetched, so we the viewer develop a certain familiar comfort level with the oddly off kilter surroundings we find ourselves in. The culture of fear it presents where elderly citizens and an incompetent government cower to roving bands of ultra-violent hooligans isn't that far removed from say, oh, I don't know, present day France or even America in some ways.
What makes the film go down so well despite some of its shocking depictions of rape, violence, and torture, is that it never preaches to the viewer. Yes, there is something to be said about a culture of fear in an over-developed nation leading to an erosion of civil liberties and a totalitarian government parading as democracy....but let's face it, this film is in it more for the laughs (the facial expressions on Malcolm McDowell and Patrick Magee are especially uproarious), as its closing scenes will tell. Alex, was cured, alright, but we the viewers may never be.