Picturenose

Vengeance is mine!

Of the many adaptations of legendary graphic novel author Alan Moore, James McTeigue’s V for Vendetta (2005) is one that I think he would approve of. I say ‘think’, because he famously eschews the advances of the movie industry, and neither licenses nor watches any of the Hollywood adaptations of his art, preferring to let the graphic artists take the credit and the cash. He certainly wouldn’t like how the scriptwriters have changed the mission of the central character, V (Hugo Weaving), from anarchy to a much more screen-friendly freedom, but he’d probably enjoy how the style of the film captures the essence and feel of the original graphic novel series. Of course, I can’t and won’t speak for him, as he has already publicly denounced the screenplay, by Andy and Larry Wachowski, as ‘crap’ - I think he’s probably wrong.

Set against the backdrop of a British society in the not-too-distant future, V is a shadowy character whose intentions are to subvert, confuse, annoy and hopefully bring down the ruthless totalitarian government led by Adam Sutler (John Hurt). If anyone’s thinking 1984 here, they may have a point, although it’s fair to say that Winston Smith was neither as well-armed nor as brutal as our man V. The story follows the same lines as Orwell’s classic, in so far as the government exercises a high level of control over the populace, having gained power from times of depression and implementing draconian laws “for your protection”. Any of this sound familiar so far, my fellow Brits?

The story parts company with 1984 as the real reason for V’s efforts becomes more clear. He is already a victim and has some old and personal scores to settle with current ruling party. While out and about terrorizing the party faithful, he runs into Evey (Natalie Portman) who is being roughed up and sexually harrassed by government officials for being out and about after the official curfew. Having dispatched them quickly and efficiently, he soon sees in Evey the opportunity for an assistant to aid him in his efforts.

The screenplay is very tight, with an intelligent script and some particularly nice set pieces - the best of all being a marvellous pastiche of The Benny Hill Show, hosted by TV star and talk-show host Dietrich (Stephen Fry), complete with canned laughter, over-the-top audience reactions and of course the infamous Yakety Sax music.

Weaving turns in a superb vocal performance. Vocal, because his face is always hidden behind a Guy Fawkes mask. Nonetheless, he delivers some weighty lines with lightness and care - a feat that can’t have been easy considering he had no facial expression to accentuate them. Portman is good, too, and she manages quite a passable English accent - not as good (or as sexy) as Renée Zellweger in Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) - but it remains consistent and convincing throughout.

This is a very good piece of cinema. Everything sits just nicely, and there is the right balance of action, dialogue and design to keep even the uninitiated intrigued.

132 mins.