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Gunpowder and treason

"Remember, remember the fifth of November / The gunpowder, treason and plot. / I see no reason why gunpowder treason / Should ever be forgot."

Perhaps George Orwell was off by a few decades. Perhaps 1984 never really happened in 1984, but rather some time in the near future, some time in the next ten years perhaps. In V for Vendetta, a heartless dictator (John Hurt) has taken absolute control over Great Britain; cameras and secret police are everywhere, imposed curfews keep people imprisoned in their own homes, political prisoners are experimented upon. It is a world that could happen if and when the constant calls to war, the threats of terrorism and new plagues bring our people to their knees. It is very easy to give up freedom for the illusion of security.

Enter our hero, V (Hugo Weaving). In the spirit of freedom and under the face of a long-dead revolutionary, V makes himself out to be the sole champion of the people. Or so it would seem, if only things were so simple. If only this were just another movie about a disposable black-robed hero of the moment out to bring justice to a dictatorial system where no justice could be found. No, V has other plans for the fifth of November: gunpowder, treason and plot.

Truly, this has to be the best film adaptation of an Alan Moore graphic novel yet; The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was a complete fiasco, bearing only its title as a token connection between the formats; and From Hell seemed to have been edited by Saucy Jack himself and pieced together by the Baron von Frankenstein (pronounced FRONK-en-steen) with all the good bits left on the editing room floor. This script was written by the Wachowski brothers, deliverers of the Matrix trilogy, which bears a disturbing likeness to our movie at hand.

The tragedy here, though, is the extremely cosmetic cast. Natalie Portman's Evey is terribly beautiful and astonishingly wooden. She is capable of squeezing out a few tears by the middle of the film, but it would seem that being chased down by the secret police and being held captive by a masked Vaudevillain have no real effect on her. Further, if the Lord of the Rings and Matrix trilogies are any clue, Weaving's Guy Fawkes mask puts out more emotion in two hours than he's expressed in a lifetime.

Fortunately for us, the rest of the movie overshadows our two heroes. There is much in the way of political intrigue and personal vendettas to enjoy against the backdrop of impending revolution. While there are great theories, ideas and beliefs beneath the mask, the Wachowskis finally grant us some relief by presenting them in a somewhat realistic and understandable manner; there are no "systemic anomalies" here, no inane jibber-jabber about "chosen ones" or bizarre and questionable abilities of being able to tap into a massive and complex computer system without being plugged in. And there is certainly, most definitely, no Keanu Reeves.

Thank God.

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