Killing In The Name of who? - "V for Vendetta"

Rating: 10/10 (1 August 2006)

For those familiar with former political rap-metal collective Rage Against the Machine, then you know that the song "Killing In The Name" off of their self-titled 1992 debut is an anthem for those upset with our current state of affairs. More so, "V for Vendetta" is a visual manifestation of Rage's innermost fears and rants, and, more accurately, the fears of those in power in our current administration. I'm listening to that song right now as I write this review and it's giving me the creative juices to express myself freely as my fingers reach for the keyboard.
"V for Vendetta" is more spiritually akin to the liberal fears of the American conservative Right than it is the DC/Vertigo graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. Moore created "V for Vendetta" as a manifestation of his political paranoia over a sure-fire conservative victory in the 1982 General Elections of the United Kingdom. This big-budget adaptation, or, revision, is tailor-made for liberal Hollywood for their fears, doesn't take the courage to out-right condemn the powers-that-be, and instead just mirrors the climate without any kind of addressing whatsoever (reasons to which Moore has sought to disassociate himself from the picture).
Most remember that code-name "V" (Hugo Weaving) is a free-whelming anarchist instead of a violent freedom fighter. Weaving is acting his way out from behind a mask of Guy Fawkes - yes! - the same co-conspirator convicted and later executed in the foiled 1605 Gunpowder Plot to blow up both houses of Parliament in an attempt to assassinate King James I of England. Weaving's face is never actually seen, so he has to use his voice and mannerisms to define his character. He's exceptionally skilled with a pair knives, is expertly trained in the martial arts, likes reciting literature and poetry particularly "Faust," and using the letter "V" in rhyme form and iambic pentameter. He also has a plan to blow up Parliament, just what his hero was unable to do.
It's 2020 London; in Moore's novel it was 1997 (back in '82, 1997 WAS the future). Years have passed since a viral epidemic killed nearly 100,000 people. The United States is in a state of civil unrest and other political upheaval (geez, the filmmakers, despite their apparent lack of backbone in the political arena, really know how to stress a point of America and Britain's doomed authoritarian futures). And it looks like more war is on the horizon.
The film gets underway when V saves the life of Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman) from thugs. She's a civilian, a pale, sullen home-body who represents the ignorant Everywoman and is naturally unaware of her government's devious plans to subvert public opinion about a guy in a plastic mask who has it out for those in charge. The powers-that-be is a man who's straight out of a liberal's worst nightmare: a gay-hating, woman-bashing, right-wing Christian Hitler/Mussolini/Bush prototype named Chancellor Adam Sutler (John Hurt), Big Brother personified, and is never actually seen in person throughout the film but when he is seen, it is always from behind a video monitor.
V has a plan to blow up Parliament on November 5, to mark the anniversary of Guy Fawkes Day, and sweet-thing Evey is going to bear witness over the next 12 months to the fireworks and celebrations. A cop named Finch, played by Stephen Rea, is on V's trail and as he digs deeper, finds himself questioning his own allegiance to his government. V is determined to live up to his vow to bring down that house. Is V a terrorist? Is he a hero? Has he found a kindred spirit in the newly enlightened Evey? Or, more terrifyingly, has he become the thing he has sworn to defeat?
"V for Vendetta" was directed by James McTeigue, a protégé of the Wachowski Brothers, Andy and Larry, who wrote the script and were the directors behind the insanely popular "The Matrix" (1999) and its sequels. Those films too had similar plots of revolution and political retribution and heroes who were seemingly superhuman. But while they defied gravity, our V here defies clear-cut classification as some anti-hero archetype.
The Wachowskis shy away the best they can from their works to give protégé McTeigue enough room to shine on his own. His film does have a rich visual style akin to what we saw in the "Matrix," though it lacks the technical skill and wonder of those films. I was able to sit through "V for Vendetta" with a pretty open mind about its politics, (lack of) faithfulness to the source material, but something still didn't stick right with me. I don't know, maybe it's just because "V for Vendetta" didn't stand up to my expectations as something groundbreaking or in-your-face about our current administration and its diabolical affairs. But that's just me.
What I do like about "V for Vendetta" is how it's still able to not represent any kind of clear-cut ideology or philosophy. It's not liberal-leaning nor is it really anti-conservative, despite my political musings. It stands on no moral high ground at all. It just shows us a guy in a Guy Fawkes mask trying to stop some really corrupt government types; V is one that DOES practice what he preaches. The film's ending will surely leave a sour taste in the mouths of many but one thing's for sure: never has the destruction of a famous landmark been a reason for celebrations, nor for sympathy.
10/10