V for Vendetta

"Meddle not with dragons, for you're crunchy and there's plenty of ketchup."

I saw that on a bumper sticker, and loved it. And if you think about it, it does apply to certain themes in this film.

How to start? Well, about 'V'....I LOVED it! This film is subversive, somber, yet oddly 'fun.' Oh yeah, and it was a 'superhero' movie. We know how I feel about those. The idea for this film came from Alan Moore and David Lloyd's graphic novel of the same name. 'Graphic Novel' is another way of saying, 'A comic book for grown-ups.' I call this a 'superhero' movie, mainly because it came from DC Comics, it included a guy in a cape who could fight like nobody's business, and we all rooted for this vigilante hero, despite the fact that he was really a terrorist of sorts. But the same might be said of Batman. Almost. V went a bit further than Batman, but he had the same basic motivations (vengence) and vigilante style (stalking the streets at night, eliminating criminals himself).

I should take a minute to talk about what a 'terrorist' is. This film explores that topic rather brilliantly; it exposes the Truth that there are many different types of 'terrorists', and that one man's terrorist is another man's revolutionary hero. It's ironic that in this current American culture, the word 'terrorist' has become the Watchword of the Religious Right, and we're getting to a point where the events of this film could become a reality. Just the other week, a friend of mine was fired for telling someone that the Kamikazee pilots in Japan were considered heroes to that nation. Well, it was true; they were heroes in Japan. In this post-9/11 culture, though, the mere mention of threats or any possible support for subversive actions is grounds for dismissal. 'Terrorist' become the buzzword for anyone who might be a 'threat.' It's all very hypocritical. After all, our forefathers might be considered terrorists for their actions against King George III. Jesus was the most revolutionary man that ever lived, and the Pharisees might have labeled Him a terrorist, if he'd used violence as his means to an end.

There are a lot of characters in this film, but you really only need to focus on two:

V: A gothic superhero who survived experimental holocaust-type horrors. V was in room number five (V), and his blood and his bodily structure became more than human during his imprisonment. He quotes Faust and Shakespeare (Twelfth Night and Macbeth), he keeps his underground home full of banned paintings, books, and sculptures, and he blows up buildings to Tchaikovsky's '1812 Overture.' He seeks to do what Fawkes failed to do: blow up Parliament and bring down a corrupt government.
He reminds us of The Phantom from 'Phantom of the Opera' in that he wears a mask always (an eerie Guy Fawkes caricature) and he brings the object of his affection, Evey, down to his home to stay.

Which brings me to..
Evey: In one of Natalie Portman's finest performances (Portman is a great actor who really needs to be known for that more than just the 'Star Wars' connection), Evey is an everywoman in the beginning, but over the course of the film, she comes to love V, for everything that he is: Truth, Freedom, and not unlike a Vengeful God. And she learns that the things he does, while not always admirable (he kills people, without mercy, but as viewers we believe they deserved it), are all a part of The Plan. I love that this movie used Fate as a Truth: V feels that his role in all of it was just that: a role he was meant to play. He sees life as a Great Plan. I agree with these ideas, so I was especially intrigued by that part of his personality. Evey feels the same way, and in the end, we're led to believe she'll make a fine protege.

The most touching moment in the film, for me (and for a lot of imdb message board folks, apparently) was when Evey is imprisoned, her hair shaved, her body starving. She lays in her cell, looking every bit the holocaust victim. I can imagine this was a hard scene for Portman, who is Jewish. The filmmakers made sure to draw every comparison to Nazi Germany that they could: from the famous march, to the color scheme of the ruling fascist regime, to the images of test subjects' emaciated bodies being thrown into pits and buried, en mass. I've never forgotten the real footage from the death camps that they showed us when I was in the ninth grade. People had to leave the room, they got so upset. I just remember those people, no longer human it seemed, in mass graves. It makes you sick to know that human beings were ever capable of such. The sad thing is, things like this still go on today. We just don't see it. We only see what some programmer wants us to see, or read.

But during that scene, Evey lays there near death each day, but she has one glimmer of hope. A fellow prisoner named Valerie passes her a mini 'autobiography' on dried pieces of toilet paper each day. Valerie was a lesbian who was imprisoned there along with her partner. Someone on imdb.com joked that " It's a shame there was no lesbian sex scene." Their backstory was very sweet and in a few short scenes the filmmakers were able to show the love, the anguish, and the committment involved in being gay. In the world of this film, all minorities of any kind (homosexuals, foreigners, anyone who wasn't white, basically) were rounded up and shipped away for the experiments, or killed by firing squad. The story gave Evey hope, because this woman was so strong. And at the end of the letters, she writes "to whoever you are, know that I love you." It's really a scene you have to see. My description does not do it justice. It was beautiful, and moving, and you almost want to break down the way Evey does at that moment. It tells us that even amidst pain and suffering, there's unconditional love out there.

I was reminded of 'Fight Club' a bit as I watched. V was Tyler Durden as a more literate man. V wanted many of the same things Tyler wanted. Mainly: Truth. Isn't that what we all seek, in the end? For some, finding The Truth means blowing up buildings, or starting wars, or standing on a mount and preaching. Or looking for Little Green Men (ha Had to get my X Files reference in there). People have complained about the 'symbolism' in this film, mainly the implication that this film attacks the Bush administration. I saw only one reference to America that implied Bush: in the future, when this takes place, America is in ruins thanks to the constant wars we waged against Iraq, Iran, and whoever else. This film takes place in Britain, though, and was written (the novel) as a veiled attack on the Thatcher administration in the 80's. I saw it as a commentary on corruption in general, from the healthcare system to the government to the military.

The lesson was: Sometimes you have to shake up the system to get real change for the people who are oppressed. And in this film, they were ALL oppressed, from Evey to V to the little kid on the street. I ended up loving V as a hero and as a man. With that smooth accent (I never had a thing for Hugo Weaving, but Lord! I love accents), that mask of pain he wore literally and figuratively, his intellect, and his strength...who wouldn't love him?

I highly recommend this film.
Especially for nerds. ;)

Grade: A+ Every now and then a truly great film comes along.

Oh, and about dragons? The monsters in this film were the people in charge. V was made to be a monster for fighting back, but he was mis-labeled. Those people in charge, they're often drunk with power, and they'll eat you up, if you let them. Just try not to have too much ketchup laying around.

Have a great day.