A movie the world needed

Rating: 10/10 (3 August 2006)

V For Vendetta is a stunning adaptation of Alan Moore's science-fiction graphic novel that is faithful to its ideals, albeit with some updates which make it seem more relevant to today's world. What makes it truly unique is its believability. While the masked freedom fighter V is the stuff of comic books, the background story of the world's fall into ruin and fascism seems frighteningly possible.
The most powerful part of the movie occurs when Natalie Portman's Evey reads the autobiography of Valerie, a remarkable woman who was persecuted, tortured and killed because of her lesbian sexual orientation. Valerie refused to give up her integrity or her dignity, in the face of tremendous evil.
The graphic novel was written in the time of Thatcher and Reagan. Today, the forces of greed and ignorance are once again ascendant. Conservatives threaten our values and want to turn back the clock on all the progress made by good-hearted, progressive people. The story of V For Vendetta is a powerful reminder of what could happen if we ever let them win, if we ever give them that "last inch." It is also a hopeful film, however, as the forces of wisdom win in the end, just as they always have and always will. Perhaps the very fact that this great film could be made and distributed by a major studio provides the greatest hope that its events will not come to pass. Liberty prevails.