V for Vendetta (2006)

• Review: *** ½ (out of ****)
• Starring: Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea,Stephen Fry, John Hurt, Tim Pigott-Smith, Rupert Graves, Roger Allam, BenMiles, Sinéad Cusack
• Director: James McTeigue
• Screenplay: The Wachowski Brothers (Graphic Novel: Alan Moore)
• Length: 132 min.
• MPAA Rating: R (for strong violence and some language)

We face our fears daily. We feardying in a car crash. We fear the death of a child. We fear that we will loseour jobs. We fear many things. The government that manipulates that fear cancontrol the populace. V for Vendetta is the tale of one such government and the man who fights to empower thepeople.

Afterthe fall of the United Statesin a cultural revolution, the religious elite in the United Kingdom use the public'sfear to take control of the government. One man, known simply as V (HugoWeaving), has taken upon himself to reveal to the people the corruption andbetrayal that has taken hold.

V'sfirst major act of defiance is preluded by a young woman out for a post-curfewstroll. Three potential rapists accost her in an alley. Though they dress andact like common thugs, they are the secret law enforcement of the streets. Asthey use their power in an attempt to take advantage of Evey Hammond (NataliePortman), V arrives to save her from their unwanted threats.

Heguides her to his lair where she watches as the Old Bailey, Britain'sjudicial icon, is blown to pieces. It is Guy Fawkes Day. V has chosen the fifthof November in honor of Fawkes (for he even wears the mask) who attempted toblow up Parliament for perceived grievances against the state.

Asall totalitarian governments are wont to do, they attempt to quash the story asa reconstruction project. V, however, is ahead of them and arranges a piratebroadcast to announce his complicity in the affair. He also announces that inone-years' time another attack will be made and he asks for the people to stopbeing afraid of the government and make the government afraid of them.

While Portman isperfectly fine in the film, the rest of the cast bring their unquestionabletalent to bear on the film. Stephen Rea yields his finest performance since The Crying Game as a cop investigating astring of murders that slowly reveal a government plot so unconscionable thatit forces him to question his own loyalties. Stephen Fry, as Evey's good friendand television celebrity Gordon Dietrich turned activist, is the perfectemotional counterpoint to the vindictive V.

However, V for Vendetta would not be the filmthat it is without the immeasurable talents of Hugo Weaving. Adding this to hisimpressive array of memorable characters (in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Matrix trilogy), Weaving handily conveys a wide range ofemotions without anyone being able to see his face.

V for Vendetta isn't your typicalexplosion-and-violence film. It bears some similarities to The Matrix , partially because The Wachowski Brothers (Andy andLarry) also adapted this David Lloyd graphic novel to the screen.

James McTeigue,who started out as a second assistant director on Street Fighter and Dark City and graduated to first A.D. on all three Matrix films takes the helm for the first time. His skill at atmosphere isunquestionable as V for Vendetta isperfectly dark and gloomy.

Atmosphere andperformance aside, it's the story that really hits home. It is a stirringpolitical allegory. It nearly perfectly parallels the rise of the religiousright in the United Statesand the simultaneous rise to power of a government that rules through fear andgets its way by manipulating the good will of the people.

It is absolutelythe perfect time for a film like this to release. Public opinion has beenslowly shifting as the truth has begun to emerge. Film history is filled withfilms that fit the times. The most apropos of these is Citizen Kane. Though the film doesn't even address themonopolization of the newspaper business, its loose biographical tie tonewspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst gave Hearst fuel and he used hisinfluence to bring about its failure. While Vfor Vendetta doesn't have the revolutionary filmmaking style and emotionalweight of Citizen Kane , it is modern Hollywood's closestapproximation. It simply feels right.

-Wesley Lovell (May 18, 2006)