A Clockwork Orange Analysis

Rating: 10/10 (8 November 2001)

-!!SPOILER ALERT!!-
A Clockwork Orange is definitely one of Stanley Kubrick's finest films. With the combination of Anthony Burgess' mind-twisting story and Kubrick's film genius, the film was destined for greatness. The graphic sex scenes and ultraviolence means that only mature viewers should see this movie, or those who can understand the true meaning behind the film. The novel was written as a warning against totalitarianism that Burgess believed was taking root in England, perhaps after having read of Ingsoc in George Orwell's "1984". This is introduced in the book by Alex's first victim, the drunk in the tunnel. ("Its no world for an old man any longer. Men on the moon, and men spinning around the earth like it might be midges round a lamp, and no attention payed to earthly law nor order no more.") Alex thrives in this society, until he has to reap the consequences of what he has done. Then, he attempts to find the easy way out and ends up in more trouble. As Mario Falsetto said in his book "Stanley Kubrick: A Narrative and Stylistic Analysis" the irony is that the Ludovico Treatment would work if society itself were not inherently vicious.
Kubrick's genius with film presents these complicated ideas wonderfully. During the Thames Embankment scene, two slow zooms, one into Alex's face and the other into the water, give the effect of Alex's depressed state beautifully. The use of wide-angle lenses at extreme angles, such as when F. Alexander realizes that Alex is the one who raped and murdered his wife, give a very disturbing effect indeed. Kubrick also uses POV shot/reverse shot sequences to give the viewer a sense that Alex is the one not only narrating the story, but living it as well. Many of the scenes in the movie are seen from Alex's perspective.
All in all, this movie is a very thought-provoking essay on human nature and human imperfection. Although some may denounce it as raising violence onto a pedestal, I believe that if you pay careful attention to the movie the tone is not one of anarchism. It is more of a somber realization that although violence is a terrible thing, the fascistic means that the Government used to get rid of it were worse. This is evidenced by when the Minister of the Interior is showing Alex off to see the effects of the Ludovico Treatment, he begins speaking like a droog. ("Enough of words, actions speak louder than. Action now, observe all.") The Government has become the thug. The real issue of the film is: is it better to be an evil human than to be good and not be a human at all, only a "clockwork orange"?