V for Vendetta (2005)

Director: James McTeigue
Screenplay: Larry Wachowski, Andy Wachowski (based on the book by David Lloyd and Alan Moore)
Cast: Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman
Music: Dario Marianelli
Time: 132 minutes
Bottom-line: A Weaving-Portman show

From the creators of The Matrix trilogy comes this political thriller, V for Vendetta, which I believe is one of the most underrated films of the past decade. Starring Hugo Weaving (in a very unique role) and Natalie Portman, this is the story of how one man stands against the government of a futuristic England. I find various similarities between this film, Shankar’s Anniyan and Nishikanth’s Evano Oruvan.

Weaving as V. His face is never revealed 

2020s – A deadly virus has wiped out thousands of people; England is under the rule of a fascist government, and the world is in turmoil. On the 5th of November, a young woman, Evey Hammond (Portman) is wandering in the streets after curfew, and just as she is about to attacked by some men, a vigilante (Weaving), wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, saves her. He calls himself V. He bombs and destroys the Old Bailey that night. Soon, V appears on TV, and tells the people that if they are also against the government, they should assemble in front of the Houses of Parliament –which he promises to destroy – on the 5th of November next year. Soon, Evey learns that V goes on killing government ministers, and she escapes from his home. Why does V go about killing people? Is it for a good reason or a bad one? What does he do till and on the 5th of November? Watch V for Vendetta to know the answers...

Portman as Evey

Hugo Weaving teamed up with the Wachowskis after The Matrix trilogy, and I think his performance as V is one of the finest of his career. His face is obscured or covered throughout the film, but Like Scarlett Johansson in Her, Weaving also gives an impressive performance, with his voice modulation and body language alone. Natalie Portman is also brilliant. Her acting during the scenes where she is tortured (she also had to shave her head for that part) is really awesome. But none of the supporting actors have done well; as far as acting goes, it is only Portman and Weaving who shine. The film’s script is packed with memorable dialogues, right from V’s introduction (where he uses heaps of words all beginning with ‘V’) to the final line by Evey. Many dialogues have also been taken from classics of Shakespeare and other sources.

'Remember remember the fifth of November...' -
the first lines of the film; a traditional
verse recited on Guy Fawkes night

The story is a combination of many genres – political thriller, vigilante, revenge and so on. It is mainly about what all V does to oppose the government. He wants to be a symbol for the people, and the source of an idea, that cannot be destroyed. As V says, in one of his lines, “Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, and ideas are bullet-proof.” This is similar to Evano Oruvan, where the identity of the person does not matter, but the idea and the purpose alone matter. Many of us may be like Evey, who oppose such violence, and many of us think that no matter what we do, the government will still be useless (in many countries). Another line by V goes, “People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.” The story is set in the 2020s, but the film was made in 2005. For the viewers, the time when the world will fall apart can be in the next year, or even in the next few months. Other than a few off-beat scenes, the story is clean.

The dialogue that is perhaps the basis for the film

Few scenes are interesting – V’s knife fight with the officials; the scene where he introduces himself to Evey; the scene where arranges the blocks and creates a domino effect to form a V, and of course, the climax. Watch the film for the spectacular performances by Weaving and Portman, powerful dialogues, the sets and the overall story (despite few unnecessary scenes). V for Vendetta is as good as any political thriller that you may come across.

Another memorable quote

My Rating: 4/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 73%