Violent, disturbing, and unusually patient, "Vendetta" reaches its film-making ambitions and makes its message heard.

Rating: 10/10 (18 March 2006)

Someone once said that great ideas do not succeed without loyalty between individuals. (I'm paraphrasing.) There are many great ideas floating through the film incarnation of "V for Vendetta", and the protagonist, V, is a compelling individual who draws the audience into his strange existence and inspires, at the very least, fascination. V (played marvelously by the masked and enigmatic Hugo Weaving) is agile and strong, educated and articulate as well as poetic, romantic and cultured. Not only can he fence, discuss music, talk about classic films, but he's a wiz in the kitchen. He is a definitive Renaissance Man who just happens to be wholeheartedly insane.
This story takes place in the totalitarian England of a not-too-distant possible future. It's a place where a disaster has allowed people to be consumed by fear of the outside world. Chancellor Adam Satler (John Hurt) is the unquestionable authority of this new era and channels Hitler as he booms orders over a Soviet-style regime with cutting-edge technologies. People scrabble about to keep up as much of a normal 21st century life as they can. Evie (Natalie Portman) is on her way to a dinner when three policemen stop and threaten her for no other crime than being out past curfew. V comes to her rescue and invites her in sincerely gentlemanly fashion to join him for a special event. The newly acquainted pair watches as V's explosives blow the historic Bailey Building to pieces as viewing London is treated to a recording of The 1812 Overture. Naturally, Evie is appalled, and although V keeps his word to return her home safely and goes on his way, another chance meeting irrevocably entwines their respective paths as investigated by the cynical Chief Inspector Finch (Steven Rea).
Hurt and Weaving as The Chancellor and V portray the flip sides of the same coin. They are men of force. One gathers power by instilling fear. The other instills hope by inflicting revenge on those he sees as the guilty. Steven Rea's Inspector Finch already knows how badly this world is run. He is cynical of the government, his place in it and what chance he might have to change it. The journey his character is on also illustrates many things about this world and where he is going in it, and it is a subtle and gradual performance. As Evie, Natalie Portman brings the audience into the nightmarish world and the increasingly nightmarish situations in which she finds herself. She makes every scene work, not just as a plot device, but more importantly for the character. There is even a scene in which Evie experiences an awakening not dissimilar to Neo in "The Matrix". She is viewing the world with entirely new eyes. However, instead of playing off of scenery full of scary machine monsters as Keanu Reeves did, Portman creates the moment standing alone in front of the camera; swamped and drowning in emotion.
Controversy has been the buzzword surrounding "VfV" during the run up to the film's release. It has been said that this movie is taking aim squarely at the Bush administration here in the US. It's not. It's also not talking about Tony Blair's current administration nor is it reflecting upon the unpopular Thatcher administration, which was in office at the time Alan Moore and David Lloyd created the graphic novel on which this is based. Nor are the filmmakers endorsing terrorism as the best way of altering a government any more than a dentist would recommend eating more candy for healthier teeth. What I believe director James McTiegue is trying to illustrate in his work with the Wachowskis' adapted script is the very need for revolution in thought when fear becomes the predominant theme in a society.
The Chancellor is seen mostly as a huge projected talking head barking orders and making frantic threatening demands. The government and military follow suit, but only out of the fear of retribution. While V is certainly not a passive figure, he radiates calm in even in a fight; no motion is wasted. V sees himself made more a reactionary than an instigator, and this refined masculinity is proved genuine as we view how he behaves in his own home with Evie. V disrupts with violence, but he appeals with conversation and ownership of his actions. He is attempting to inspire people from their fear and lethargy.
Although there are frightening images, such as V's birth by fire and Evey's torture, McTiegue's camera, too, is sparing with its motion and reserved with the space it permits the story's characters. There are close-ups during intimate and poignant moments. The action sequences are startling in their ferocity and executed with all the expertise expected from the assistant director of "The Matrix" series. In many scenes, the camera frames up an entire room and sits still. Even moves following someone down a hall or across a floor are done out of necessity and without excess flourish or unusual angles. The characters and situations are allowed to do the talking. Control and patience are the dazzling features here.
Unfortunately, some people will always take inspiring fiction (written or filmed) as fact or mandate, but this is a comic book world with comic book rules and brutal action  though action does not occur as often as one might expect. This is a comic with ideas in its head. If it just so happens that people find similarities between the film and current governments in the world, maybe that says something about the real life situation to which they are comparing it. If one finds a government is not living up to expectation, maybe it's time to start running for office or working for causes. This is a film with a big point to make, and takes risks making it. It's rare that a studio film is as driven as its main character.
10 out of 10