Clockwork Orange Syndrome

Rating: 6/10 (19 March 2003)

Much has been made of how the violence in this movie compares to that of Clockwork Orange, however they both have one more striking similarity. In both films a brilliant first half is eclipsed by a second half that loses focus and purpose.
While it is a very humorous movie, the second half collapses under it's own weight, failing to see or realize the satire evident in the novel. The film's end cuts out the original ending of the book- which is a classic mind-f**k that the film is not sophisticated to appreciate. The whole intellectual side of the movie and Norton character and his progression from beginning to end is overshadowed by pointless action such as the fight in the garage between Norton and Pitt. By the time the female lead shows up again at the end we hardly remember the significance of her role in the film's beginning. The support groups that lead into the story also serve as a very simplistic foil to the support club of the fight club- their original significance in the mind of Norton is lost along with most of the other intellectual aspects of the story. The director is brilliant and has great style but seems to lose focus on what he is trying to say- if he even knows...