Good book, good movie

Rating: Null/10 (1 February 1999)

Stanley Kubrick has made a career out of doing novel-based movies that are later disavowed by their authors. His repertoire includes 'Lolita', 'The Shining', and Anthony Burgess' 'A clockwork orange'. As a catholic, Burgess could not accept the fact that this film is the clean adaption of what he himself wrote. That between his sugarcoated words he had hidden images of very brutal violence and terror. Still, for those of us who aren't inhibited by religion, this film sports the same weighty blow as the novel. It seamlessly transfers Burgess' experimental use of language to the big screen, and actor Malcolm McDowell is incredible as Alex, combining his hideously evil grin with the adolescent need for fun. Lovers of the novel will not be disappointed by Kubrick's adaption, as it goes just as far in the search for free will as Burgess did, and as it keeps the nuances that made the book so fantastic in the first place.