Movie Critique (English 4)

Rating: 8/10 (1 December 2019)

"V for Vendetta" by James McTeigue is arguably one of the most controversial movies filmed during the early 2000s. The movie was very popular in the early 2000s and Natalie Portman earned a few awards for her acting in the movie. "V for Vendetta" is a drama film based on the Guy Fawkes story as he tried to destroy Parliament in 1605. In the film "V" is an anarchist with the intention of fulfilling Guy Hawkes plan to blow up Parliament on November 5th. V wears a Guy Hawkes mask during the entire movie to show that he is finishing what Hawkes started. The film was made to illustrate the importance of fighting for your rights and what will happen if you let the government take them away. The film seems far fetched, but with all the control the government has, we may not be too far from a similar situation.
The movie is set in 2020 in the United Kingdom. The story follows a masked man named "V" (Hugo Weaving) and emphasizes his disapproval towards the totalitarian government. V met a young woman named Evey (Natalie Portman) and she joined him along his one year journey to destroy Parliament in hopes of rebuilding a fair government in the UK. Evey was forced to join V on his journey because he rescued her and took her to his underground shelter and did not allow her to leave after because she knew where he resided. V explained to Evey his plan of destroying Parliament and she was skeptical at first, but V explained issue of the government having more control than they should. V killed all the people responsible for torturing him (mostly members of Parliament) at Larkhill Resettlement Camp because they made him into the monster he was. V died in the end after fighting to regain the rights of the citizens that were not able to fight for themselves. In the end, Evey placed V in a train full of explosives, which he put together himself, and sent him off underneath Parliament and his goal of blowing up Parliament was successfully reached.
Many people may not be able to tell the main theme of the movie at first glance, which may be the reason that it is not favorable to many. The film has a greater message than it displays on its surface. The main message of the film is that ideas cannot die. Although V died in the end, his ideas will live on because as long as there is a valid cause, people will stand behind it.
McTeigue made his opinions on his government preference a little too obvious which is a major issue of the overall film. Typically your political opinions should remain to yourself and you should not try to persuade others. The movie also may have over exaggerated how oblivious the citizens would be to the corrupt government, because it seems a bit strange that V would be the first person to think about revolting against the government. I think the main issue that the movie may cause would be people deciding how to handle the issue they want to change. The film shows that they need to use force and violence to get what they want, but that is not always the case and in some situations it causes the issue to worsen.
The ending of the film shows characters that were originally dead, as alive when they watch the destruction of Parliament. Prior to this event, V states, "Behind this mask, there is more than flesh. Behind this mask, there is an idea Mr. Creedy. And ideas are bulletproof". The meaning behind this statement is that all of those people died for the cause but their sacrifices did not go unnoticed or unappreciated. Their deaths contributed to the change that occurred and it would not have been possible if they didn't die for what they believed in.
Evey did an excellent job at expressing her emotions throughout the film. Although the mask that V was wearing did not change expressions, the actors tone of voice and body language made his expressions very clear.
I think the message that McTeigue is trying to get across is valid because it shows that people can make a difference and they do not need to settle if they believe in something else. I am confident that the movie sends the right message to people that maybe be afraid to make a change because it shows that they will not be alone in fighting for what they believe in.
McTeigue achieved his goal by illustrating the corruption of the government. The film shows that it only takes one person to make a change and others will stand up for it if the cause is worth changing. Since the film is set in the future, it shows that we may not be far from a similar world. It causes us to be cautious of how much control the government possess before we have little to no control over our own lives. I personally feel like McTeigue explained the issue very well and showed that it would not take much to end up in the same place as them, which makes the film a dystopian cautionary tale.
This film was one of the most interesting dystopian films that I have watched. The film brought light to a controversial topic, the amount of control the government should be allowed to have. The sole purpose of the movie is to make you aware of how bad things can turn out if we let the government take our rights and not fight for what we believe in. McTeigue also depicts that you can make a difference and that you should not depend on other people to stand up for you. The movie shows that if you decide to stand up for your rights, others will follow and your goal is possible to achieve.