V For Vendetta

Reviewed by Audrey Shine To summarize V for Vendetta with its advertising tag line “people should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people” minimizes the impact of this great movie. It is a complex story that gradually unfolds, all the while raising important and mostly unanswerable questions about justice, revolution, and love vs. injustice, fascism, and selfishness. It is both heartbreaking and hopeful, and a rare movie experience. V for Vendetta tantalizes the audiences senses and minds, with stunning visuals, unusual stunts, and layered symbolism in ways that few movies ever have; with the obvious exception of The Matrix and its sequels. V for Vendetta doesn’t rely on computer science, physics and metaphysics to build it’s mythical world and the heroes within as The Matrix did. Instead, it is more emotionally and politically engaging. There are no allusions to esoteric philosophy, but there are some wonderful recitations of Shakespeare. The cast is perfect. Hugo Weaving does a masterful job of creating fear, sympathy, kindness, and cruelty in the totally masked character, V. His performance is haunting, with only his voice and mannerisms to convey V’s murderous intentions and his sensitive inner life. In all regards, Hugo Weaving makes this movie work. He gave heart and soul to a masked vengeful character. For those who thought that Natalie Portman’s acting prowess was captured as Queen Amidala in the first 3 Star Wars episodes, her performance will be a shock. Her Oscar-worth portrayal of Evey Hammond clearly captures the growth of the character from her fearful, frivolous beginnings to her self assured transformation under the tutelage of V. Their love story gives the movie it’s center- it’s heart- and it’s hopefulness, which is the key difference between V for Vendetta and other narratives of man’s inhumanity to man. John Hurt as the chancellor creates a sinister, mad, unforgettable symbol of the abuse of power. His henchmen are reminiscent of all political cronies and fit their jobs well. Tim Piggott-Smith as Creedy gives an appropriately creepy performance. Stephen Rea as Inspector Finch is the perfect witness and finally participant in V’s grand plan. Another particularly engaging performance is Natasha Wightman as the captive Valerie, whose suffering causes one of the pivotal events in the movie. Production-wise, this movie is truly a work of art. The score by Dario Maranelli is original, exciting and perfectly in-tune with the action and emotional crescendos of the story. The costumes by Sammy Sheldon are remarkable for capturing the mood and the personality of the characters. V’s costume alone is both beautiful, powerful, and threatening. Owen Patterson’s art direction created fantastic settings for the characters to play out their dreams and deeds. V for Vendetta deserves awards, plaudits, and lots of professional recognition in many categories. But most of all, it deserves a lot of credit for being thought-provoking, visually stunning, emotionally engaging, and entertaining at the same time. By all accounts, a V for Victory.