Viddy Well!

Rating: 3/10 (29 October 2003)

I watched A Clockwork Orange when I was a teenager, I absolutely hated this movie, watched it several times, couldn't get into it. The main reason being was the character Alex, it freaked me out so much that not only was I supposed to sympathize with a killer by that I could relate to him as a teenager. I had never been so disgusted by a movie at that time. A few years later as an adult I decided to give the movie another chance and I also divided myself from the character Alex trying to look at the film to see if there was anything I was missing since it's such a loved classic. I was completely wrong the first time that I viewed the film, this isn't about Alex, this film is about our society and it's absolutely brilliant. Decades later the film still shocks it's audience and conveys such a powerful message about how we as citizens consider ourselves to be civilized creatures, but when given the opportunity how quickly we could turn. Or how to take a brutal murderer, turn the things he loves most against him and wonder how we could feel for him? A Clockwork Orange is truly a remarkable story and deserves nothing but respect.
Alex DeLarge is the leader of his "droogs". One night, they engage in an evening of "ultra-violence", including beating an elderly man and fighting a rival gang. They steal a car, they drive to the country home of a writer, where they beat him to the point of crippling him. Alex then rapes his wife while singing "Singin' in the Rain". After the events of the night before, his droogs express discontent with Alex's petty crimes, demanding more equality and more high-yield thefts. Alex reasserts his leadership by attacking them and throwing them into a canal. That night, Alex invades the mansion of a wealthy woman . While his droogs remain at the front door, Alex bludgeons the woman with a statue. Hearing police sirens, Alex tries to run away, but is betrayed by his droogs. Dim smashes a pint bottle of milk across his face, leaving him stunned and bleeding. Two years into the sentence, the Minister arrives at the prison looking for volunteers for the Ludovico technique, an experimental therapy for rehabilitating criminals within two weeks; Alex readily volunteers. After the experiment supposedly works, he is let out back into society where all those who he has wronged are now given the chance to have another encounter with him. Only question is we think we're civilized could turn right back into the vicious animal that Alex was condemned for being himself.
A Clockwork Orange did something I never thought could happen, it turned into one of my favorite movies. Alex is one of the most despicable characters ever put onto the silver screen from a book, Malcolm McDowell delivers one of the best performance of his career and honestly when he passes, his work in A Clockwork Orange made his life worth while. Alex does bad because he just enjoys it, he's a teenager who takes being bad to the extreme, not just being disrespectful to his parents, but having sex, doing drugs, drinking, raping and killing. It's just disturbing that you could feel for him towards the end of the film but I think it's not only because of Malcolm's great performance but also because Alex is very intelligent, I think it's just that he's too smart for his own good. It's scary that also when he is given the chance to go back into society where he has destroyed so many lives, you want him to get on the right track despite his wrong doings. But as soon as he bumps into the people who he wronged, they turn on him so quickly and you understand why but at the same time want them to be the bigger person and forgive him. It's a hard movie to understand and watch, but is done with such class and style. A Clockwork Orange is a masterpiece and I'm so glad that I gave it the chance it deserved, it's an incredible film that will remain in the classics for years to come.
10/10.