James McTeigue's V FOR VENDETTA

By Dennis D. McDonald

I loved this film for several reasons:

• Despite its graphic novel origins, it really does deal with some complex and profound issues.
• Natalie Portman is excellent.
• It’s unapologetically European (actually, British) in its orientation.
• The “look” is very, very classy.
• John Hurt acts as if he had been fed raw meat before his scenes and was told by the director, “it’s OK to foam at the mouth”
• I loved V’s “thinking man’s Bat Cave”

It’s a complex film, not only because of deals with cosmic issues like freedom, terrorism, and tyranny, but also because it forces us to explore these issues on a very character driven basis. V (played by Hugo Weaving) justifies his behavior on political and moral grounds. Evey (played by Natalie Portman) is repulsed by V’s moral relativism,  especially since she is a victim, yet even she realizes that, despite his moral failures, V is actually involved in a Good Fight.

Despite its origins as a “comic book,” this film  refuses to provide easy answers to complex problems of freedom, tyranny, and terrorism, and that’s a major plus.