V for Vendetta

Yet another, er, graphic novel adaptation but much darker and more serious than others I’ve seen or noticed. Written and produced by the Wachowski brothers and directed by their longtime assistant James McTeigue, V for Vendetta is the story of a near future Britain that falls under the control of a fascist politician riding a wave of terrorist episodes and global unrest. One man, known only as V, has found the means to fight back and he uses the failed revolutionary Guy Fawkes as a stalking horse to rally support.

V (Hugo Weaving, in yet another high profile science fiction role) is never seen out of costume, centuries old clothing and a hard ceramic mask. Even when making breakfast for his unwilling house guest, Evey (Natalie Portman, in her early 20s, her appearance a very appropriate blend of child and woman). V saved her from some nasty extracurricular police activity one night but soon after realized the only way he could truly protect the girl was to keep her in his lair. Despite what you’re probably thinking there’s no intimate contact, how could there be when he never removes that mask?

Meanwhile V’s high profile guerilla actions are driving High Chancellor Adam Sutler (John Hurt) a bit batty, and the politician has already got a good start on that. One by one his minions are falling to V or Sutler’s discontent with the exception of top policeman Finch (Stephen Rea), a cop bent on doing his job and keeping the politics as far out of it as possible.

McTeigue keeps the visuals dark, lots of deep reds, greys and scenes shot at night, underground or with rain falling if day time, and a big building on fire some years beforehand which we see in pieces throughout. There’s a minimum of exposition and flashbacks used instead of talking for most of the explanatory material. The philosophical backdrop is clearly of a piece with the Wachowski brothers’ most famous work, the Matrix trilogy, decidedly individualistic and wary of corporate machinery.

(As an aside, I’m quite amused that their next project is the film version of ’60s cartoon series Speed Racer. Another project in which an underdog takes on The Man and another cartoon adaptation.)

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