Lots to Think About

Rating: 9/10 (2 August 2006)

It is a characteristic of great art that it gives one a lot to think about. This film is no exception. There are reflections here of 1984, Brazil, and the Phantom of the Opera, but the story told here is not any of the above. It is also highly literate with constant allusions to and quotations from classic writers (especially Shakespeare). Here are some of the points to ponder: 1. What does the mask represent? Is it V's persona as a terrorist? Is it to make him an abstraction or an embodied idea? Or an Everyman? (Evey's comment at the end of the film reinforces this) A romantic relationship with a man in a mask (as in Phantom) probes questions of how much you need to know about someone before making an emotional commitment.
2. How do fascist states work? We see a lot of familiar themes here: the brutal secret police, torture, restriction of civil liberty, censorship and propaganda. All very intentionally topical and a comment on the rise of fascism especially in the US. But behind that is the reiteration that the basis of the fascist state is fear: fear of terrorists, epidemic diseases and so on, that allow the government to justify using its repressive means and to perpetuate the fear. How does one escape the domination of fear? What kind of personal apotheosis is that? What does it enable one to do?
3. What is a terrorist? How does that differ from a freedom fighter? Is terrorism acceptable in some cases? Is hijacking a television network in order to bypass censors and make a speech a terrorist act? What is the difference between justice and revenge? Which one is V after?
4. Stephen Fry's character Gordon is a lot like V but a lot different as well. The contrast is interesting.
Aaah, this sounds too much like school notes; see the film--it will raise all of these issues and more in a much more interesting way than I could.