REVIEW: V for Vendetta

The movie V for Vendetta, written by the Wachowski Brothers (the creative force behind The Matrix movies) opened on Friday March 17th with a weekend gross of $25.6 million. I saw the movie on the opening day because I was intrigued by James Wolcott's rave review last month and I wanted a nice day out before my trip back east. After the movie, we had lunch at the famous Pie 'n' Burger at Lake and California in Pasadena.
The film is indeed "the most subversive cinematic deed of the Bush-Blair era" as Wolcott so delightfully phrases it.

The movie is set in a near-future Britain, where a neo-fascist government has taken hold. It has slogans like "STRENGTH THROUGH UNITY, UNITY THROUGH FAITH" which are plastered all over the metropolis which looks identical to London. Natalie Portman plays Evey, who is the audience's surrogate as she and we discover the despicable nature of the government, whose leader is played with spit and vinegar by John Hurt. The other main character is "V" who we are introduced to in a delightful set piece where he says what seems like twenty-five words beginning with the letter V in succession. It's quite an ostentatious display of wordcraft by the Wachowskis. V is played (voiced?) by Hugo Weaving (The Elf-King Elrond in The Lord of the Rings movies, Agent Smith in The Matrix movies) and he is very impressive in the part, despite the fact we never see his face.

The plot is involving and is fueled by a sense of outrage which comes from a surprisingly powerful extended film-within-the-film sequence which is very salient to LGBT viewers. I didn't know about this aspect of the movie going into it, and was pleasantly surprised by its inclusion. For those readers who have seen the Wachowski Brothers' first cinematic feature, the sapphic suspense classic Bound, you will not be disappointed.

OVERALL RATING: A-