Kubrick at his worst...

Rating: Null/10 (27 December 2001)

...is still not that bad. Orange isn't a bad film, it's just not that great either. The violence and cruelty may have shocked in 1971, but today it seems cliched and dull. I realize that orange was groundbreaking when first released, and to call it cliched may be a bit of a misnomer, but what really hurts the film viewed in a modern context is that it lacks a vision...none of the interesting moral themes are explored to the satisfaction of this viewer. I found the clergyman's points about free will and the nature of 'good' to be fascinating, but they were just fleeting flicks of dialogue. The ambiguity of the ending was also unsatisfying...was he still a pawn or was he regaining his freedom? Having never read the novel I can't say, but I assume that the novelist gave more of a hint than the director...
I will say this: it merits a second viewing, and it is an ambitious film, even if it is also a flawed one. 7/10