Product: A Clockwork Orange (1972)
Rating: 4.0
Prophecy Fulfilled?
A Clockwork Orange makes you think. It's the story of Alex, a very, very bad boy. There's no disputing the fact that he's a thug, a real menace to society. The director makes sure this character has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. You WANT him to pay for the vicious crimes he commits. When Alex is finally imprisoned, he becomes a model occupant. He quickly gets in good graces with the prison pastor, because of his quick learning of the "Big Book". Then a new system of "reform" (proposed by the current political party in office) is introduced, which promises to turn criminals from bad to good. Alex asks the Holy man to recommend him so he can enjoy an early exit from prison. Once in the program, our (anti) hero is subjected to drug-induced, mind-control sessions, in which he is forced to watch films full of endless violence and sex. Mixed with the drugs, he gets a sick, immobilizing feeling when subjected to either. In other words, he's not rehabilitated. His freewill has simply been taken away. I won't tell you anymore details, for fear of spoiling too much of the film. It does make a strong political statement, though. As our freedoms become more and more threatened after 9/11, who decides who the bad guys are? Who needs to be reprogrammed? That's the brilliance of Stanley Kubrick's storytelling. He makes it impossible to feel sorry for this guy. Yet, you feel sorry for our society, and the horrors that could be unleashed on average citizens. Kubrick was about 30 years ahead of his time with this one. (I gave it only four stars because of disturbing violent, sexual and religious images. I thought these scenes could have been a little less gratuitous.)