Remember Remember the Fifth of November

As the title suggests this post is about 2006's hit V For Vendetta, having seen the film many many times and also being a fan of the original graphic novel by Alan Moore, and is a tale of anarchism, and rebellion in a totalitarian state. I recently reviewed Cloud Atlas, a film with which V for Vendetta shares many thematic, cinematic and conceptual elements with Cloud Atlas, firstly the film is written by Andy and Lana (formerly Larry) Wachowski, who both co-directed Cloud Atlas and of course the Matrix Trilogy. Both films also contain references to totalitarian states, and show us individuals who show immense courage to reveal the truth; Evey in V for Vendetta, and Somni-451 in the "An Orison of Sonmi~451" (2144) segment of Cloud Atlas. The two films are also both rather good!

The role of the title villain V is played by Hugo Weaving, who manages to give a stunning performance despite only showing his face in one short scene, and Natalie Portman plays Evey, a young woman who shows incredible strength and who by her courage manages to help our anti-hero bring down a regime of terror. The film deviates from the graphic novel in many ways, firstly the novel is set in the 1990's, and deals with themes such as Anarchy and fachism, whereas the film is set in the future, around the 22nd century, when America has been destroyed, and neo-conservativism is Britain's response to the fear of nuclear war and multiculturalism.

The film shows us less of a post cold war environment as shown in the graphic novel, and more of a  post Iraq war, and is incredibly current in its criticism of the bush doctrine and the state of world politics, it was these things that led Alan Moore to distance himself from th project, yet i feel that these additions help make the film current and exciting to a film audience, the novel is incredibly 'of the moment' and was a response to the division of the world at the time, and to how the world would end up if the cold war did not end, yet it raises questions about divisions and the harmful nature of the division of the world into two factions.

The reason that this change works to well in this film also has to do with the universal nature of the character of V, in the novel Evey takes up the mask at the end and takes up the mantle of becoming V, this universality means that the characters identity is not defined by time or place or political concept, but by bravery, courage and an avidity for justice, the scene in which all the free peoples of London put on the Guy Fawkes masks and march on the houses of parliament, show us that V is not so much a character as he is a symbol, and as he says 'Symbols are invincible'

This use of the character as a symbol justifies the changing of the time and placement of the novel, and the sense that the mask is a symbol which represent freedom, justice and the fact that if we group together, we can do anything. after all, governments should be afraid of their people. I am impressed that watching this film 7 years after its creation, the film is still incredibly current, and means more now that ever, and i feel that the Wachowski's deft and thorough understanding of the material helps to create a current and entertaining cinematic sculpture,which manages to be current and which 7 years on and which is still 'of the moment', top marks! Rating: A-

V: The only verdict is vengeance, a vendetta, held as a votive not in vain.

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