V for Very Good

Rating: 8/10 (11 October 2006)

In a future where Great Britain is a fascist state ruled by a Big Brother-like figure, a masked revolutionary wages war against the powers that be by terrorist means. This engaging drama is an impressive directorial debut for McTigue, who obviously has been influenced by the Wachowski brothers, with whom he worked on the Matrix films. The visual imagery is rather striking if sometimes overtly symbolic. Portman turns in a fine performance as a young woman who becomes allied with V, the masked man. Although we never see his face, Weaving brings surprising depth to the role of V. Ironically, Hurt, who tried to escape the oppression of Big Brother in "Nineteen Eighty-Four," plays the Big Brother figure here.