V for Vendetta

It starts with the mask. V, the caped crusader who fights the British fascist government, as well as avenging those who made him what he is, wears a Guy Fawkes mask, after the would-be bomber of 1605. The mask gives him a permanent look of whimsy that has echoes of the Joker. Whenever he was on screen, I was focused on him, as his look is that magnetic.

But this film is more than the look. In a post 9/11 world, the destruction of buildings for a cause is certainly a touchy subject. I suppose that V destroys buildings that are empty of people is some comfort, but he has no aversion to killing those in authority. As his plan to carry out Fawkes original plot--the destruction of Parliament, comes close, there's a line about it just being a building, and sometimes the destruction of a building gives people hope. That's certainly not a safe statement to make, considering the times we live in.

Set in London in 2020, with the United States in civil war, the Brits live in comfort in a fascist dictatorship, under the leadership of a Big Brother-ish John Hurt. The goverment spins the media (hmm, seems familiar) and dissent is not tolerated. Violators are taken away in the night, black bags over their heads. A young woman, a child of dissidents, but now a simple cog in the machine, Evy Hammond (Natalie Portman) is saved from rape by policeman by V. She returns the favor when he storms the television network where he works and broadcasts his intentions. A police inspector, played perfectly by Stephen Rea, endeavors to catch V, but as he investigates he uncovers troubling information. Evy, who for a time is held prisoner in V's Bat-Caveish lair, doubts his motives, and escapes, but is then caught by the police and undergoes a hellish torture. But even then she can't be sure who her tormenters are.

There are plot points that defy credulity. At one point V ships copies of his mask to 700,000 people. Either he has a mask-stamping machine in his basement, or there are shipping records the police don't follow up on. And wouldn't it raise some eyebrows for a private citizen to order that much fertilizer? These are the types of problems that are frequently found in superhero comics (the source of this film is a graphic novel) so can be overlooked, particularly because the rest of the film is so strong.

I would love to see this again, and will certainly add the DVD to my collection.