V for VENDETTA Review by Scott Weitz Rating: March 16, 2006 Director John McTeigue deftly guides this tale of social dysfunction, political corruption and human defiance of tyranny to its inevitably explosive conclusion.  But in doing so, he delivers a film that is less fantastic, more human and grounded in a soul-satisfying reality that the Wachowski Brothers' failed to accomplish previously.

The motto of our masked hero is simple, even unoriginal, yet his audience is encouraged to ponder the larger meaning of this seeming catch phrase which indeed sounds highly revolutionary in today's political climate:

People should not be afraid of their governments.  Governments should be afraid of their people.

Upon that humanist and "terrorist" foundation the Wachowski Brothers and director John McTeigue tear asunder the totalitarian nightmare of fascism, while telling a fast-moving story that finds more intrigue in the human heart than in the dehumanizing of dictatorships.  This scenario dramatizes the thin but vital line separating patriot from terrorist, and the moral dilemma between being a vigilante who seeks social justice versus a terrorist who murders for personal vengeance.  Most importantly, V FOR VENDETTA exposes how easily, and often how readily, those in power to serve society can easily hide their fascist agenda behind the mask of public protection.

Part dystopian fantasy of the near-future, part cautionary tale of the present, V FOR VENDETTA certainly earns an A for acting, B+ for storytelling, and three cheers for dusting off a badly abused genre until it once again shines as a mirror to our own, quite non-fictional world that often appears to be spinning out of control.  More importantly, it underscores that our world is never truly out of control unless people willingly surrender their power to change it, either through apathy or inaction.

One is either sad to admit or happy to see that the time for this tale has come again, and like another recent Warner Brothers film, GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK, the implied parallels to and artistic revelations of our own times are most apt, and appropriate.  Surveillance without warrants, political persecution, punishment without justice, and ideological war waged by government upon its own people are just a few of the themes that keep the social commentary from so easily being dismissed as science fiction.

While V FOR VENDETTA pays nodding tributes to George Orwell's 1984, the film gladly casts aside its more fantastic elements, instead adhering faithfully to a core of social and political believability, even practicality, to drive its theme home to audiences.  To the film's benefit and our own dismay, one must suspend the smallest about of disbelief to accept the dysfunctional lifestyle of irrational fear and social apathy shown onscreen which have allowed tyranny to take hold in this dark, decaying isle of England.

Yet one of the film's larger successes is that it doesn't wallow in its depressing, downtrodden state-of-the-State to achieve its dramatic tone and purpose.  As Orwellian as it must be to some degree, the story borrows as much from Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera as it does 1984, with direct homage to the 1934 Robert Donat version of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO.  McTeigue's film certainly illustrates how the preservation of freedom is an ongoing battle that must be fought daily on a billion individual fronts, but it is at its core an intimate drama of two lost souls who find each other's hearts and humanity.

The unexpectedly excellent pairing of Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman provide the film with all the heart is can hold in 132 minutes, and their strong performances carry the entire weight of the film.  Not to say that V FOR VENDETTA is a heavy, lumbering burden to watch — far from it!  There are many delightfully light moments of comic absurdity and verbal jousting interlaced with the dangerous edge of knife fights and explosive confrontations.  The 10pm audience I saw the film with enjoyed several hearty laughs throughout the story, all well-timed and skillfully placed so they compliment the action and angst experienced by the characters.  Rare that a gritty drama about dictatorship run amok would include, let alone support, such whimsical moments of true, honest humor, but these laughs fit nicely — and importantly — into the human puzzle being resolved.

As the Guy Fawkes-masked revolutionary, known only as V (an interesting puzzle piece in itself), Hugo Weaving walks a difficult and dangerous wire act, yet he pulls it off with great success.  Working entirely behind a grinning, static facemask would rob most film actors of their effective assets, but apparently Weaving not only accepted the challenge, but thrived upon its limitations and the ancient dramatic history behind wearing such facades.  His performance calls back greatly to the silent-era mastery of Lon Chaney Sr., who used false faces and pantomime to create a pantheon of classic "faceless" roles for himself.  I suspect Weaving must have studied Chaney in some amount, so similar are the broadest and most subtle gestures he plays to bring V to life before our eyes.

Granted Weaving can rely on his delightful vocal skills which allow him to intone with dark foreboding or gentle empathy, a luxury Lon Chaney didn't enjoy in his silent masterpieces.  But Weaving's distinctive voice was also hampered and limited by the mask he wore, a auditory diffusion which the role demanded to remain kept in place for believability.  Thus V spoke as much through body language, the flick of his hand or the tilt of his wigged head, as he did in his dialogue.  It takes extraordinary skill, confidence and trust to give such a comic book-inspired performance and imbue it with life, depth and heart, and in that aim Hugo Weaving is entirely on-target.

V would be nothing, however, without his Evey to spar with and fight for, and in the role Natalie Portman shows a broad range of emotional heights and depths in what can easily be considered her most mature and satisfying performance yet.  As surrogate for the audience being swept into this dystopian underworld, Evey must enact our collective curiosity about the man hiding behind the mask, and Portman invests so much vulnerability and discovered strength in the character, that she exposes layer upon layer of Evey's soul even as she attempts to connect with V's mask-hidden humanity.

In a pivotal scene for Portman's character, Evey breaks down emotionally as V attempts to help her break through to accept her new chance at life.  Portman is so committed to the moment and emotion of the scene — her tears so genuine they appear to sting, her breaths coming in strained convulsions — that the scene is both painful to watch and utterly compelling at the same time.  Yet Portman offers counterpoint to such volatile performance moments with quiet scenes of heartrending silence and stillness amid Evey's solitary confinement.

Shaving her head for the part as it fits a turn in the story, Portman shows she is no less effective and affecting an actress without her glamorous good looks and long tresses of curly hair.  Indeed, all "movie star" facade and finery are stripped away from her in the role, a revelation that only allows Portman to plug straight into the audience with a direct current of talented artistry.

The supporting cast include the ever-reliable John Hurt as England's Hitleresque High Chancellor, Adam Sutler, in a performance of controlled extremity that serves the film's totalitarian theme well without descending into trite cliche or histrionic lampoon.  Stephen Rea turns in an understated but solid performance as Finch, a party member reporting to Sutler yet retaining his detective sensibilities enough to dig into history and mysteries that the State really doesn't want acknowledged.  In a small but enjoyable role, Stephen Fry offers up genial delights and a welcome plot twist as Dietrich, Evey's boss and TV talk show host.  It seems British veteran actor Tim Pigott-Smith seems destined to portray every hard-nosed, overly authoritarian prick British drama can serve up to audiences, and as usual he fulfills this dirty deed successfully as Sutler's corrupt enforcer, Creedy.

Some words on the production:  V FOR VENDETTA is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore, illustrated by David Lloyd and published by Vertigo/DC Comics.  This was the final achievement in the stellar career of cinematographer Adrian Biddle, and it is a handsome finale and tribute to his skills as a director of photography.  The film is dedicated in his memory.  Kudos to Costume Designer Sammy Sheldon, Art Director Owen Paterson and sculptor Bernd Wenzel for giving V his distinctive and debonair mask and wardrobe, which no doubt will take Halloween costume shops by storm this October.  The music by Dario Marianelli aptly underscored the film's eruptive highs and dim depths without fighting for center stage in the soundtrack

As typical and true to the nature of such stories of Orwellian social satire and political obliteration of the individual, V FOR VENDETTA rises above the limitations of a genre to blend fiery action with fierce human antagonism.   Some advance reviews incorrectly claim this film is short on thrills and visual fury, mainly in comparison to a high-octane autofire film like THE MATRIX TRILOGY, but such comments sell V FOR VENDETTA woefully short.  The point of James McTeigue's tale is not to hammer away at the audience's senses for two hours; instead he allows this vision of a dictatorship sensibility to reveal and ultimately celebrate the humanity such iron fists attempt to crush.  The subtle yet constant references and parallels to the social and political history we live today inspire far more fear and reason for caution than any virtual shooting gallery can.  In the end, V FOR VENDETTA places the value of the human heart, and the love that people dare to feel, despite all the obstacles to experiencing it, proves the most effective weapon against imprisonment of the body and tyranny of the soul.

V FOR VENDETTA stands head and shoulders above the typical multiplex fodder of the spring movie season, and it earns a well-deserved A for its ingenuity, imagination and daring spirit.