Remember, remember the 5th of November. That is the call of the vigilante V (Hugo Weaving, THE MATRIX). The film is set in a future where the U.S. has turned into a leper colony and Britain is ruled by a fascist regime, which uses the fear of terrorists to keep its citizens in line with the ruling party.
Evey (Natalie Portman, CLOSER) works at the top British TV network and heads out for a rendezvous with TV celeb Deitrich (Stephen Fry, GOSFORD PARK). It’s past curfew and she is accosted by the secret police, but saved by V, who takes her to his “concert” — the destruction of the Old Bailey. Big Brother-like leader Adam Sutler (John Hurt, 1984) is furious the next day and begins a propaganda campaign to downplay the incident.
V’s next move is to infiltrate the TV network and send out a message to the people that they should show up at the parliament building on the following November 5th to take a stand against their totalitarian government. So for the next year, V must set his plan in motion to unveil all the evils of his government. Detective Finch (Stephen Rea, THE CRYING GAME) is commissioned to hunt him down with the watchful eye of propaganda leader Creedy (Tim Pigott-Smith, GANGS OF NEW YORK) always watching him. Throughout, Evey gets more involved in the actions of V, which are harsh, but effective.
V, who wears a mask of Guy Fawkes who in the 1600s attempted to blow up parliament, is labeled a terrorist, but he only blows up buildings not innocent people. The film daringly deals with the idea that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. The story is a metaphor for many political leaders from Hitler to Stalin to George W. Bush.
Though he is behind an unmoving mask for the entire film, Weaving creates a thoroughly compelling and fascinating character in V, who is a little loopy, but might just be right. The film allows us to judge his methods. The film’s only missteps are when it tries too much. The Sutler government is such an amalgam of so many real and fictional oppressive governments that the film is at times overwhelmed with too much plot. The film plays as a highlight reel of all the evil things a government can do to its people.
The parallels to 1984 are there, but the film never dwells too long on the similarities. Sutler for a good portion of the film is only seen on a huge screen. The government manipulates history to fit their current agenda. If V is the film’s avenging angel, then Evey is the representative of the common citizen who is awakened to take a stand. In its message it isn’t really saying anything new, but it’s nevertheless daring in how it says it. Parallels to current events will be seen from your own point of view. But at its core, the film is about standing up for what it right when your government is doing wrong. As V says, people should not be scared of their governments, governments should be scared of the people.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
