Friday, March 24, 2006
V for Stop It Already with the Clever Review Headlines
So how does the film version of “V for Vendetta” shake out? Not enough action for a comic book fantasia, not enough tension for a political mystery/thriller, nowhere near enough mental fodder for a lesson in social control vs. anarchy (which, and I apologize for saying this, The Comic Did Better). If it any part of it works, it’s the outcry against homophobic government policies. The masked V rattles on a lot about what revolutions need and which Shakespeare quotes go well with pummeling government thugs, but his wordiness (which The Comic Did Better) doesn’t always work on screen. V’s credo doesn’t seem as central as Valerie’s, spelled out in the notes that Evie finds during her imprisonment and torture. Valerie’s need to hold on to her humanity by loving someone--even someone she’s never seen--comes across as more noble than V’s need to demolish Big Ben.
The film version of Inspector Finch (who TCDB) comes off as boring, and in need of the LSD that his comic book counterpart took during his vision quest at Larkhill. The comic also had this woman (Helen?) humiliating one of the government leaders behind closed doors and forcing him to lick her shoes, and I missed this nasty reference to Thatcher in the movie.
Taking out V’s speeches on anarchy make all his violence seem closely related to the cruelty of the fascist regime he’s fighting against. Indeed, V’s love of theatricality, his doomed travails in the service of his holy idea, and his enthusiasm for destruction nudge him toward the death-fascination of National Socialism. I don’t see how the filmmakers could have included V’s discourses on order passing through chaos into anarchy, but they needed something to set V apart from his foes, aside from his strong dislike of them, and his preference for the music and books they’ve banned.
Well, go see it. It’s not a perfect film, but kudos to Los Wachowskis for getting middle America to shell out to see a film that spits in the face of gay-bashing.
So how does the film version of “V for Vendetta” shake out? Not enough action for a comic book fantasia, not enough tension for a political mystery/thriller, nowhere near enough mental fodder for a lesson in social control vs. anarchy (which, and I apologize for saying this, The Comic Did Better). If it any part of it works, it’s the outcry against homophobic government policies. The masked V rattles on a lot about what revolutions need and which Shakespeare quotes go well with pummeling government thugs, but his wordiness (which The Comic Did Better) doesn’t always work on screen. V’s credo doesn’t seem as central as Valerie’s, spelled out in the notes that Evie finds during her imprisonment and torture. Valerie’s need to hold on to her humanity by loving someone--even someone she’s never seen--comes across as more noble than V’s need to demolish Big Ben.The film version of Inspector Finch (who TCDB) comes off as boring, and in need of the LSD that his comic book counterpart took during his vision quest at Larkhill. The comic also had this woman (Helen?) humiliating one of the government leaders behind closed doors and forcing him to lick her shoes, and I missed this nasty reference to Thatcher in the movie.
Taking out V’s speeches on anarchy make all his violence seem closely related to the cruelty of the fascist regime he’s fighting against. Indeed, V’s love of theatricality, his doomed travails in the service of his holy idea, and his enthusiasm for destruction nudge him toward the death-fascination of National Socialism. I don’t see how the filmmakers could have included V’s discourses on order passing through chaos into anarchy, but they needed something to set V apart from his foes, aside from his strong dislike of them, and his preference for the music and books they’ve banned.
Well, go see it. It’s not a perfect film, but kudos to Los Wachowskis for getting middle America to shell out to see a film that spits in the face of gay-bashing.
# posted by toner_low @ 6:16 PM 
