It all boils down to the nature of choice within our morals, and the irony of being an object within that debate.

Rating: 9/10 (1 November 2013)

To understand the human being, one has to understand the idea of freewill. Although it is difficult to determine whether or not free will exists, it much simpler to analyze on how genuine a person can be, based on their own nature. Stanley Kubrick's dystopia satire plays on this concept of human individuality, pitting itself against a more mechanistic conception of the human being. A Clockwork Orange explores the subjects of morality, political institutions through manipulation, and the initial use of behavioral psychology, in a story that plays out with a chaotic theme of destruction, mixed with comedy.
The young, and difficult to detest Alex (McDowell), our loving narrator, is both charming and witty in his many loves of life. Be it the beauty of battle among "Droogs" of a lesser caliber", his appetite for the "old in out", or the awe he experiences every time he plays Beethoven's the ninth. Alex, along with his fellow droogs walk the streets of London, beating the poor and further concocting more mayhem to enact on the innocent. After killing a gymnast, with an erotic piece of art, Alex is sentenced to 14 years in prison. It doesn't take long for the young hoodlum to acquire even more enemies, be it the conservative prison Chaplin(Quigley) played with an amusing authoritarianism that further strengthen the satirical aspects of the film.
After two years, of faithfully reading the good book, Alex enlists in a government rehabilitation program with the potential to help him get out quickly. Little to his satisfaction comes the revelation as he faces and reviles at the very violence he once cherished worthy of the grace of God. One grotesque image after another is played out with the ninth in the background, thus deconstructing the very monster Alex is, no by the means of himself, for the concept of choice is forsaken for simply greater ethics. It's hard to imagine that there are those who believe that the outcome is more important than the means generated, but as the Minister of the Interior (Sharp) proclaims his change of heart as the cure to evil, Alex's true purpose through the film becomes ever more clear.
When first viewing this film, and its brutal rape scenes, accompanied by a jolly tone of wonder, the delusion that Alex merely serves as the role of a sociopath came to mind. As the film progressed however, the manipulation of his nature for political gains, became one of the clearer messages within Alex's Cockney rhyming slang. The London society of the film although not completely desolate, is defined by chaos. The streets are filled with rampant gangs of violent sadists, crooked cops, and erotic artwork. Several of the criticism's towards the society in the film, have labeled it a Communist State, just after its failure to stand within the image of socialism. It isn't a far cry of an assumption, as equality appears to be absent within the setting, and it is much easier to see who is in charge. Regardless of who gets to Alex, be it the right-wing Minister, with his intellectual generosity, or the self-righteous patriotism of the Anti-Totalitarian left, his place is that of a puppet. Regardless of his nature, or whatever bad luck he stumbles upon. Alex will always find someone to play the puppeteer of his life.], never full grasping the irony of his place in the very society that has robbed him of his right to choose.
Although very brash in its approach towards the subject of political manipulation, behavioral psychology, and sexual violence, A Clock Work Orange is bold, and liberating exercise in filmmaking. Written and Directed by Stanley Kubrick, the film Adaptation of Anthony Burgess' novella is brilliant in its approach of presenting morality within the scope of choice in opposition of psychological abuse. Although the protagonist, Alex is a genuine monster, one cannot completely hate him. Within the first fifteen minutes, he rapes a woman, while singing "Singing in the Rain", and yet it is through his rather calm and quaint narrations that he is able to charm his audience into further observing his story, wondering where his path of inner torture will lead him. Malcom McDowell, in one of his first screen roles, delivers a performance that is both malevolent and ecstatic in its execution. As the leader of his droogs, his pacing along with his patience, comes the essence of a wacky and capricious trickster, who sooner tastes the perils of victim hood. Initially we are meant to sympathize with him as he is further thrown down a pit of despair. This same pit carries the many atrocities that he once more acquires, as he utters "Yes I was cured", but it all boils down to the true significance of his own purpose as a tool for political power, and not any genuine significance or meaning in his existence other than an addict.