An uncomfortable message for our terror-embattled democracy.

Rating: 10/10 (23 March 2006)

This is an art-house film disguised as a comic action-flick. Its trailer belies the film's serious subject matter. Stylistically it is wonderful. It should become a cult classic.
'V' offers an insight into fascism  how it uses fear to get power and keep power. There are clear parallels with Nazi Germany. For fear of Communism, substitute fear of terrorism, gays and 'godlessness'. For Antisemitism, substitute Islamophobia. For the Reichstag Fire, substitute 'deadly virus'  but in this case, the 'Nazis' really do 'set fire to the Reichstag'. For Dachau, substitute Larkwood detention centre where 'worthless human material' is subjected to scientific experiment. For Hitler/Goebbels/Himmler, substitute an all-powerful 'High Chancellor' (John Hurt) supported by censored TV and biometric surveillance systems and Fingermen enforcing nightly curfews. For 1937 Exhibition of Degenerate Art, substitute the private and illegal collection (including a banned Koran) of the Stephen Fry character. For Gleichschaltung, substitute Reclamation. For collusion between Nazis and big business, substitute a drug company tsar who makes millions out of its antidote to the deadly virus. For Night of the Long Knives Nazi back-stabbing, substitute the betrayal of the High Chancellor. This film could become a teaching aid to understanding Nazi Germany!!
'V' is the heroic individual who challenges this totalitarian nightmare. Using the 400th anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot was a brilliant iconic device on which to hang the 'cloak of resistance'.
Critics have questioned this use of Guy Fawkes as an icon of resistance to tyranny, pointing out that he wanted Catholic theocracy, not freedom. This misses the point. Fawkes targeted a Protestant elite which he saw as an oppressive tyranny ruling over a benighted island. He was not an indiscriminate bomber, but was engaged in an act of tyrannicide recently endorsed by the Jesuits.
It is a cultural challenge for British people to accept GF as an icon for heroic resistance to tyranny. The British have been burning GF in effigy every year for the last four centuries. Our Catholic-fearing culture has cast him as the archetypal villain. Bonfire Night is the only genuinely popular national festival that we have. British children used to stuff old clothes with newspaper, purchase a cheap Guy Fawkes mask for a face and beg 'penny for the guy' in the street in order to get fireworks money for Bonfire Night. They now engage in Trick or Treat (Globalisation = Americanisation).
The 'V' character targets buildings, not ordinary people. His bombings are a rallying call for Londoners to rise up and overthrow the dictatorship. Watching the Houses of Parliament blow up at the end of the film was for me a very moving and cathartic experience as well as a theatrical masterpiece. It was as symbolic as the Fall of the Bastille. The Legislative House has lost control of the Executive and pays a just price! The people have risen and overthrown tyranny! Rejoice!
V is really into tyrannicide rather than terrorism: his personal vendetta is directed at the leading perpetrators who have scarred his life. He is very much in the tradition of Georg Elser and the July Plotters who almost killed Hitler. Were they heroes or traitors, freedom-fighters or terrorists? Does V's aim justify his means? The audience is forced to confront these serious matters. Viewers may feel uncomfortable about terrorism and bombings in our terror-ridden times - underlined by the film's delayed release following the 7/7 carnage. The use of an underground train to deliver the final blow was an unfortunate coincidence which the filmmakers could not have predicted. It will resonate badly with many Londoners.
Both the 'V' and Natalie Portman characters are played wonderfully and an intelligent script gives them the opportunity to develop both character and storyline. Their relationship is carefully crafted. He is the teacher, she the non-political citizen who is sucked into his subversive enterprise. The awful effect of fascism on individuals is illustrated by several story lines and flashbacks, skilfully and poignantly told. What happens to the Stephen Fry character when he bucks the system is unnervingly accurate! The dialogue explores both the motivation for violent political action and also its corrupting potential. It gets quite deep in parts, with quotes from Shakespeare.
Orwell wrote '1984' in 1948, not as a future prediction but as a critique of Stalinist Russia. This film is a political fantasy and does not seriously aim to project present 2005 trends up to the year 2020. It alludes to the Nazi era and fascistic tendencies in any modern society. The idea of a resurgent, 'fascistic' Christianity casting Muslims and gays into the abyss does not reflect the realities of modern-day Britain, merely the dreams of a few British fascists. Paradoxically, at this moment in time, it applies more to the USA which the film portrays as 'godless'. Fundamentalism, homophobia, racism and Islamophobia are more in evidence in that society  witness the recent Congressional paranoia over a Dubai-based firm acquiring US ports, resistance to gay marriage and abortion and the continuing 'freedom' to be racist!
ETA has finally ended its terror campaign against the Spanish state. ETA's rationale for its terrorism disappeared long ago - 'Up, Up, with Franco! Up, Up, like Carrero Blanco!' Did it ever have a rationale, even in the darkest days of fascism? ETA targeted leaders and functionaries of the Spanish state, rather like Guy Fawkes and 'V' and Stauffenberg's bomb. Is violent political resistance ever justified? The film answers this moral dilemma with a resounding 'yes'. This is an uncomfortable message in our terror-embattled democracy. The film does not endorse indiscriminate terrorism but it does endorse tyrannicide.
This is a well-crafted film which is both profound and entertaining. It is full of historical allusions. Remember, remember, this is a political fantasy film which is grounded in historical realities. 'V for Vendetta' enlightens in an entertaining way. I've seen it twice. It was even better the second time around.