Remember Remember the Fifth of November

When I first saw the trailer for V For Vendetta I was not impressed. Most modern movies that deal with the subject of cultural revolution are for the most part, cut and dry. This film is set in futuristic London. Right off from the introductory credits I’m pleased that this futuristic view is not hyped up to look like something that came out of a 1960s issue of modern science I.E. flying cars and transporters, but portrays a fairly realistic view of the not so distance totalitarian future.

The plot begins as we focus on the two main protagonists, Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman) an employee for a national broadcasting firm and V (Hugo Weaving) a masked man set on revolution with a dark past that holds many skeletons.

Though a chance meeting on Guy Fawkes Night our two characters meet when V saves Evey from an encounter with London’s totalitarian police. In return he invites Evey to a near by rooftop to view his “concert performance”, the destruction of London’s historic Central Criminal Court known as Old Bailey.

Later that day V commits a terrorist style attack on London’s top broadcast station (where Evey works) in order to give a message to the people, that one year from that day he would destroy the houses of Parliament. Evey Helps V escape but is soon incapacitated, V in return takes pity on her and takes her with him to his underground hideaway.

Before she knows it Evey is in the middle of a plot to over though Europe’s new found dictatorship, where the simple act of questioning the reasoning of your government is a crime. V tells Evey that she must stay in his underground sanctuary for one year until his mission is complete.

Although she stays willingly for a time she later seeks refuge at the home of Gordon Deitrich, a popular talk she host, as well as her boss. However he has been marked by the government after lampooning High Chancellor Adam Sutler (John Hurt) as well as being a closet homosexual. After a raid on Deitrich’s home Evey is captured. Under the threat of death she refuses to tell officials any details about the mysterious “V”.
The rest is fodder for the history books. How one man started a revolution and saw it thought to true cultural revolution as well as the destruction of a hateful government.

Although this film is based on a comic book, it did not perform over the top. This film produced realism not only in the plot but the characters. We see a society more afraid of their government then the government afraid of its citizens. A government who uses wiretaps and domestic spying tactics unabated. Dare I say much like today?

The story does go into some sub plots that I wish the script would have gone into a little deeper. Such as the current events in the United States (current time in the film) where the U.S. is described as a leper colony. and a little clarity into back history of V.

I realize that some may see the idea of a protagonist indiscriminately killing anyone who gets in his way as wrong (which V is guilty of). However I find that this only makes the character of V more dark and intriguing. Remember this is a revolution folks, you have to break a few eggs.

This film reeks of current themes being expressed by government critics while maintaining a theatrical distance that is cinematically pleasing. I would highly recommend this film to anyone who missed the chapter on the theory of modern civics in their high school textbooks.

There are plenty of films on anarchy, this is not one of them. This is only a film about ideas, dare we implement any of them... Remember, Remember the Fifth of November.