This evening Bethany and I went to go see V for Vendetta. After seeing this movie all I can say is "Wow! You need to check it out!". This movie is definitely a powerful, thought-provoking story – the kind you need to go see with friends and plan on having some discussions over coffee afterwards. It’s hard for me to say whether or not this is a good movie, I still need some more time to process it.
The imagry used in the movie is amazing. Directed by the Wachowski brothers (the same guys who wrote and directed the Matrix trilogy), you can see a lot of the same techniques employed in this movie. Throughout the movie they keep giving you these mesmerizing scenes that really capture your attention and convey the message well. There is a lot of graphic violence in the movie, but it wasn’t without purpose and did help enhance the movie. One of the fighting scenes at the very end was incredibly gory, but also very mesmerizing in the way it was executed.
The story dealt with a totalitarian government (taking place in a futuristic Britain) and the battle between "V", an anarchist terrorist dressed as Guy Fawkes. The movie deals with the manipulative tactics and propaganda used in the regime, and it’s interesting to see the changing effects the tactics had on the people of Britain, as well as the transformation of a girl named Evey Hammond (played by Natalie Portman).
Hugo Weaving was excellent in this very difficult role, where he spends the whole movie wearing a mask. Having no facial expressions, Weaving had to rely on his voice inflections and body language to convey his emotions. I can only imagine how difficult this was. It’s funny – because didn’t see Weaving’s real face, I didn’t realize he was in the Matrix and Lord of the Rings until I got home and looked it up on the internet.
I definitely need some more time to process this movie before I can write about it, but I really wanted to express the initial impact it had on me.