Fat Ninja

I can’t quite recall where I first saw a preview for V for Vendetta (V), but I remember feeling mixed emotions. I think I was taken aback by the visage of the hero figure of V himself. His mustachioed-mask, with its unnervingly cheerful demeanor seemed out of place when placed in a line-up of other recent comic-to-film adaptations. However, as soon as I saw the names of the Brothers Wachowski (the creators of The Matrix universe), all doubts flew out the window.

Well, I went to see V last night with high hopes but no real expectations. I didn’t do my usual research on the movie, and fortunately the previews did little in the way of giving up major plot points. Clocking in at a little over two hours, I was most surprised (though, I really shouldn’t have been) by V’s focus on dramatic exposition. I was expecting a lot of bullet-time style action sequences, but I apparently underestimated the ability of the Wachowski boys to write a deep and moving story.

The entire cast of the film turns in some wonderful performances. Natalie Portman returns to form, shaking off the stunted and shallow role of Padmé in the Star Wars prequels, to deliver a very emotional and honest character portrayal. The voice of Hugo Weaving proves a perfect fit for the avenging V, with his careful articulation and matter-of-fact, yet suitably dramatic inflections. Along with a cast of notable actors, the world of V is recreated in all of its Orwellian horror.

You should know that V’s story inspires a number of questions that it fails to answer; largely centering around our hero’s origins. But all in all, it’s a compelling yarn that finds auspicious timing in this troubled political era in which America finds itself. Knowing the Wachowskis, it’s safe to say that V’s tale of an increasingly repressive government born of fear and isolationism, and its resonation with our current state of affairs is no coincidence.

Before seeing it, V struck me as little more than a fast-paced action film based upon a comic book. But I was happy to find that V is actually a very frightening glimpse at the politics of fear and the peril that is a government unchecked. I think the most eerie thing about my viewing was that while it seems a melodramatic portrayal of fascism, there was a part of me that really felt as though I were standing at the precipice of the present, looking down into that dark future found in the film. As I walked out of the theater, I had this haunting apprehension that we are truly on the brink, and that the times in which we live mark a turning point in the future of this country.

In these respects, V’s message and the powerful images used to communicate it are highly effective. In much of the dialogue offered by the title character, I could hear the echo of many recent world affairs; I could see the power of fear and loathing and its ability to cow a people into quiet subservience. I saw a dark territory into which we, as a country, are edging further and further. And that vision of the future terrifies me.

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