A Messianic, Discombobulated Ideology Only Conceivable in a Distantly Distorted Future

Rating: 6/10 (1 May 2008)

"A Clockwork Orange" starts at a "Milk Bar" where they drink "Milk Plus." I don't know what it's in the milk as Alexander DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) narrates the contents of it and it sounds like he's talking in a different language, but it's intoxicating nevertheless. This is their prep work. Going to the bar sets the mood and the mind. After this, the "droogs," come across an old "filthy" man- a homeless man- who's drinking and singing away. Once Alex jams some night stick looking weapon into the hobos stomach, the hobo, goes on to preach about the state of the world and tells the gang to "do him in" as he rambles about the violence crisis the world is facing and its "lawless" lands. It was terrible acting from the hobo and terrible dialogue, or should I say, terrible preaching. This scene, as ineffective as it may be, sets the tone and basic underlying theme of the rest of the film. The government has lost control. The gang then proceeds to beat the hobo with chains and canes. This is not the end of a night out on the town. The droogs talk their way into a house and the woman opens the door. The gang quickly rushes in and bounds the husband and wife. Alex then rapes the wife as he sings "Singin in the Rain." The helpless husband watches in horror. The act is funny in which it's presented in satire form. The singing done by Alex during his rape almost diverts the attention of what's really happening. The goofiness of the gang and the way they talk, walk, and act becomes more funny than horrifying. This satire will muster up some laughs and the acting of Malcolm McDowell is extraordinary, but the direction of Kubrick is heinous. The supporting performances around McDowell are horrid, over the top, and uncontrolled.
The major theme is when the government backs a testing program, which forces its patients to take a shot that gives them a sickening feeling as they watch horrible acts of violence against their will. This gives the patients the feeling of never wanting to resort to violence again. Alex couldn't resist women, which is the reason why he raped them. If he wanted something, it was there for the taking. Alex is tested and the treatment worked!!!! This little twist takes away the freedom to choose- even if you chose to be a rapist.
Once Alex has no free will the plot thickens. It thickens so much Kubrick get's lost in what he wants to say, but he knows one thing: Alex is the only thing that's normal and Alex signifies the criminal world. The criminal world is normal? Lw-abiding citizens are distorted and abnormal? Intereting idea Kubrick. Interesting idea. The testing now forces Alex into becoming a non-offensive person. He can't chose what he wants. When aggravated he can't fight back. "Violence is a very horrible thing. You're learning that now. Your body is learning it."
The body learns it, but the mind loses all control. To make matters worse, when he's released for being cured, he becomes homeless and finds his parents have rented out his room to a stranger. Alex is shown no support from his parents. Ah, the life of a released criminal. Society labels poor old Alex improperly even though he's been rehabilitated (You can wipe away the tears. Kubrick would appreciate that). They care more about this new son than Alex.
"A Clockwork Orange" makes the point that: when criminals are released the world changes so much that society won't allow them to conform, creating no options. Once again, this is the governments problem, you see. Alex becomes homeless and with no place to go, he wanders around. He can't go back to his old lifestyle because, once again, the government takes that right away too. Alex has no place to go because when you've been gone so long society won't allow you to conform, and since the government took his freedom of choice away; he can't make a living for himself the way he once did. Alex runs into familiar faces that now take advantage of him and since he's cured we're supposed to feel sorry for him. The victims now get their revenge. As the scope of the second act and the third act widen, Alex becomes the victim and everyone else he's ever harmed, as well as the government, have taken away his free will. Now all the innocent people are the evil-doers and bad guys that we should hate. Alex fins himself on the opposite end of the spectrum. They're the bad guys now and Alex is the good guy. "Government is Murderer."
Once some very bad things happen to Alex it makes news when he's hospitalized. He undergoes some more treatment done by the same government in attempt to hide the public shame of the experiment gone wrong. After more experimenting with Alex' brain, we see a much different Alex than in the previous act. We see the old Alex: Unfiltered and very much the same. In the end there's no great message. There's no solution to the problems presented. It's just a glorifying look at violence and blaming the government for abusing their power and using criminals as animals to test, manipulate, and ruin. In the end, you'll get the feeling that the director wants you to be happy for Alex. Why should you be happy? Because he can now go back to his antics that we seen in the first 30 minutes as he dreams of a rape, and says, "I've been cured, all right." Congratulations Alex. You're cured. We're all so happy for you. Now, go out and rape somebody. Make Mr. Kubrick proud.