| HEY FASCIST! : James McTeigue's 'V For Vendetta' [6/10] |
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| Saturday, 08 April 2006 | |
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As eighties grebo-combo Pop Will Eat Itself once loudly informed us in song, 'Alan Moore knows the score' - it rhymes if said in a southern English accent. And indeed he does: the Moore is a genuine living legend in the world of the graphic novel. Often working with artist David Lloyd, his output includes genre-redefining works such as Watchmen, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and From Hell. Many aficionados reckon that his finest hour was mid-80s series V For Vendetta, written at the height of brute Thatcherism, which (in time-honoured paranoid-dystopian fashion) anticipated a future England ruled by neo-Fascists. The population have been effectively cowed into obedience - but the government meet their nemesis in the form of a flamboyant, permanently-masked, Guy Fawkesish figure known only as 'V'. Moore also "knows the score" when it comes to cinematic adaptations of his work: he never has anything to do with them, and often goes to great lengths to have all mention of his name removed from any posters, credits and promotional materials - watching the ropey Hollywood movies made of From Hell and League you can see why. And while V For Vendetta is a cut above that pair (and a shattering masterpiece alongside the upcoming, thematically-similar Land of the Blind) it's still no great shakes. Indeed, most British critics have lambasted it as one of the year's most unendurable turkeys. Their American colleagues have been rather more impressed - some even hailed the picture, written by the Wachowski brothers and directed by their protege James McTeigue (who worked on their Matrix pictures) as a minor masterpiece*. There hasn't been such a transatlantic difference of opinion since Match Point: another twisty, London-set thriller made by fish-out-of-water Americans. V For Vendetta is, it has to be said, a bit of a mess, with numerous unfocussed elements, frustrating loose ends, and moments of ham-fisted story-development: the decision to devote so much time to the investigations of two flatfoot police detectives (Stephen Rea; Rupert Graves - reminiscent of James Nesbitt and Ewen Bremner from Match Point) is especially ill-advised, as the picture frequently grinds to a halt as the pair exchange speculations and hypotheses. The original tale has been conspicuously watered down and made more multiplex-friendly, with heroine Evey Hammond (a plummy-voiced Natalie Portman) now a TV researcher rather than a prostitute. The Wachowskis' screenplay is an awkward rag-bag of topical references (avian flu; bombs on the underground) held together by the vengeful V - a mixture of Harry Lime, The Phantom of the Opera (complete with opulent underground lair) and Vincent Price's Edward Lionheart from Theatre of Blood. Despite never once appearing without mask, wig and costume, Hugo Weaving works wonders with the vivaciously verbose V. He's certainly more consistently impressive that Portman who, while she grows into the role in the second half, sounds way too posh and seems generally a little out of her depth against such a flamboyantly self-confident thespian. The Shakespeare-quoting, wildly overeducated V is, to say the least, an unusual figure to find at the heart of what is fundamentally popcorn-oriented fare. And, as has been pointed out by American critics, the Wachowskis and McTeigue are to be congratulated for sneaking in all manner of surprisingly meaty thematic fare among the explosions and murders: even the target demographic will surely have little difficulty drawing parallels between the current geo-political state of affairs and the Fascist phantasmagoria the movie (plausibly) suggests may be waiting just around the corner. It's often admirably close to the knuckle: even Moore would appreciate the fact that the picture's Hitlerian demagogue (played with gusto by John Hurt) was, we're told, formerly a low-ranking minister in the Conservative Party. In the year of Brokeback Mountain, meanwhile, it's timely that V For Vendetta contains not one but two episodes which take an unmistakeable and powerfully moving stance against homophobia. These sequences are all the more effective for being smoothly integrated within what's really a pulpy, engagingly loopy fantasy plot - one that rousingly culminates in a slam-bang, spectacularly pyrotechnic finale and some very nifty, red-and-black chiaroscuro credits that are very much worth lingering in your seat to catch. If, that is, the picture hasn't sent you out into the streets yelling "Viva la revolucion!!" Neil Young V-IV-MMVI V FOR VENDETTA : [6/10] : USA (USA/Ger) 2005 : James McTEIGUE : 133 mins (BBFC timing; version originally certificated runs 132 mins) seen at Cineworld cinema, Sunderland, (UK), 27th March 2006 - public show * It's probably too early to start talking about the best movies of 2006, but by the end of the year, people will still be talking about the brilliant and incendiary V for Vendetta. ... With its clear references to the post-9/11 political climate and rampant fears of terrorism, V will make some people piss their pants—and rightly so. Balancing complex political themes with breakneck action and suspense, V has the kind of long-lasting relevance that these kinds of flashy comic book movies tend to lack. Here's to the Wachowskis and McTeigue for having the balls to make us think while we munch our popcorn. Maxim online
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