391. V For Vendetta; movie review

 

 

V FOR VENDETTA

Cert 15

133 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong violence, sexual threat, very strong language

Documentaries and re-releases have provided blessed relief for Mrs W and me from the splurge of dismal movies released during the Covid crisis.

We had never seen V For Vendetta before and found it enthralling and eerily prescient given that we watched it on the same weekend that the Government locked down half of the country.

I would go so far as to claim that Boris Johnson was megalomaniac dictator in the shape of Adam Sutler (John Hurt).

But it is the case that authoritarian rule has been borne out of a virus which has ravaged Europe and killed more than 100,000 people.

V (Hugo Weaving), the protagonist in James McTeigue's movie has been inspired by a combination of the Gunpowder Plot and revenge for government-backed killings several years previously.

It is set in a not-too-distant future which has echoes of Orwell's 1984.

It begins with TV production assistant Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman) being rescued from vicious members of the secret police by the aforementioned masked V.

He then blows up the Old Bailey to the accompaniment of the 1812 Overture.

Because she is seen on CCTV with him she becomes a suspect alongside him and a huge public hunt ensues.

Stephen Rea and Rupert Graves play detectives on the frontline who are under instruction from the dictator who conjures memories of Big Brother from a giant screen.

V For Vendetta is a classic dystopian thriller but, as said, it also throws out a fair few parallels to modern society.

Media manipulation is one of its major planks with TV presenters (Roger Allam and Stephen Fry) representing both ends of the political spectrum.

In times of crisis, however, it is clear nobody is safe regardless of which side they take.

Reasons to watch: Intriguing, expertly crafted thriller

Reasons to avoid: A tad over-melodramatic

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Did you know?  It took nine months of negotiating with 14 government departments for the filmmakers to gain permission to film on Whitehall, London's famous thoroughfare that runs from Trafalgar Square to the Parliament Buildings. The film shot three nights in a row between midnight and 5 a.m.

The final word. Illustrator David Lloyd: "Our attitude toward Margaret Thatcher’s ultra-conservative government was one of the driving forces behind the fascist British police state we created in Vendetta. The destruction of this system was V’s primary reason for existence.” 

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