Kubrick's Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (3 September 2011)

Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange tells the tale of a young hooligan named Alex and his gang of "droogs" in future Britain. Alex and his droogs get their daily kicks from fighting, stealing, violating and listening to their favourite composer: Ludwig Van Beethoven. One day the droogs decide they no longer need Alex as their leader, so they formulate a devious scheme to get rid of him once and for all, but not everything goes to plan Kubrick's effective use of music in the film contrasts heavily to the events taking place. Rather than using a slow and moody score to suit the film's content, Kubrick opted to use up-beat and fast paced classical music, which adds quite a comical and sarcastic feel to events that would seem somewhat terrifying in any other circumstance. The eccentric set design and costuming gives a sense of madness throughout, and while it doesn't necessarily look the future, it certainly doesn't look like the present. The performances are all solid, especially that of Malcolm Mcdowell who gives a tour de force performance as the juvenile delinquent Alex Delarge. A Clockwork Orange truly is Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece, and is my absolute favourite film. 10/10