Movies based on the works of Alan Moore have been a mixed bag; From Hell was, by and large, a successful adaptation, while The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was, by all accounts, a fiasco. Now we have V For Vendetta, which will leave the author’s seminal Watchmen as the only remaining major Moore work to be adapted. V For Vendetta largely succeeds in translating the graphic novel to the big screen, purists will undoubtedly cry foul, but for anyone looking for a solidly entertaining movie with ideas, V For Vendetta is a must-see.
Updated from the graphic novel’s prophetically paranoid allusions to the Thatcher era, the movie V uses pretty much the same foundation as its comic book predecessor. An England spared the evils of war, terrorism, and disease that have ravaged much of the rest of the world has been taken over by a fascist dictatorship led by the Hitler-meets-Big-Brother, iron-fisted Adam Sutler (John Hurt). All visible minorities have been deemed undesirable and herded into concentration camps, anyone who utters a word against the regime will be shown no mercy, and Gestapo-like “Finger Men” enforce a strict curfew under threat of rape, torture and death.
Such a fate would have befallen Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman) had she not met V (Hugo Weaving) at the beginning of the movie. V, an inhumanly tough fighter armed with flying daggers and wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, rescues Evey from some Finger Men and then takes her to his Shadow Gallery, a sort of Batcave meets art museum and library. The vendetta to which the title refers involves V’s quest to liberate England and his desire for revenge against those who imprisoned and experimented on him in a concentration camp called Larkhill. The third member of the movie’s triumvirate is Inspector Finch (Stephen Rea), the man tasked with finding V.
The fans of the graphic novel will probably be disappointed coming out of the movie, in truth I was a bit too, having read the graphic novel and having a deep appreciation for its multi-layered and sophisticated narrative. Still, I was pleasantly surprised at how much of Moore’s voice was still present in the finished movie, and I generally accepted the changes made to the script to suit the screen.
I’ve heard a lot of whining about how the Guy Fawkes mask is more of a hindrance than a help to the movie, but I disagree. The V costume is a great visual: striking and archetypal. If anything, I’d say the movie overemphasizes the Guy Fawkes connection; in the graphic novel, it’s really nothing more than a passing reference, really only symbolic given V’s first act of terrorism (which happens at the end in the movie instead). The movie seems to treat it as critically important, even including a prologue about the real Fawkes.
Regardless of the rigidity of the mask, Weaving does an excellent job as V, perfectly capturing the character’s idealism, madness, and physical presence. It’s a credit to Weaving that even after his actions at the end of the second act, which I won’t spoil here, we still have some sympathy for V.
Portman plays well off of Weaving, but when left to her own devices, she sometimes lets the moments slip by, which is not a knock against her British accent, but she really doesn’t take full charge of the role. Rea was good as Finch, which was fortunate because one of the oddities of Vendetta is that it sometimes seemed more about Finch solving V’s mystery than V trying to accomplish his mission.
V For Vendetta’s political allusions are oblique at best. There are some vague references to a war “America started” that brought about its downfall. The propaganda wing of Sutler’s government takes the form of a 24-hour news channel that follows the party line word for word. The station’s main anchor, Prothero (Roger Allam), bears a striking resemblance to the likes of Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity. V even broadcasts a video ultimatum that could almost have a lot in common with the ones that occasionally come from Osama bin Laden.
None of these references are very specific; after all, the scene where V commandeers the TV station is straight out of the graphic novel. However, the overall message of the movie is clear: it’s not advocating terrorism, but rather trying to encourage us to be wary of people who promise security at any cost, that living in fear is the worst way to live, and that you should be willing to stand up for what you believe in – lest someone else force what they believe in on you.
V For Vendetta may look like a slick follow-up to The Matrix trilogy, but it’s got ideas, too. A tight script by the Wachowski brothers, competent direction by first-time director James McTeigue, a stellar cast, a brilliant concept, and exciting visuals. V For Vendetta is better than we deserve, even for an Alan Moore adaptation.
