Remember, Remember The 5th of November

Great performances by Weaving and Portman, although the whole totalitarian concept in this movie does not quite hold water.

“V for Vendetta” is set against a futuristic landscape of a totalitarian Britain. Evey is rescued from a dangerous situation by a masked vigilante known only as “V”. Incomparably charismatic and ferociously skilled in the art of combat and deception, V marks the start of a revolution as he blows up a landmark and take over a government-controlled TV-station, urging his fellow citizens to rise up against tyranny and uppression in one year from now. As Evey uncovers the truth about V’s mysterious background, she also discovers the truth about herself, and emerges as his unlikely alley in the culmination of his plot to bring freedom and justice back to a society fraught with cruelty and corruption.

The government infected a watersupply and a school with a virus in order to make people so afraid that they could ask them for absolute power. By continuing to exaggerate the threat of this virus, they got complete control of the country and scared people into apathy. V seeks to remedy this situation by blowing up symbolic buildings and broadcasting messages to the people. There is only one problem with this; it does not seem very credible. When the chancellor is broadcasting message to the people, nobody are believing it anyway. They react with disgust and even the little children call him a liar. Why people are supposed to be oppressed remain an illusion.

“Hugo Weaving” is doing an impressive performance as V. As he is wearing a mask the entire movie, he has to focus even more on voice acting, as well as acting with arms and legs. Evey is portrayed by “Natalie Portman” and she is also doing a great job as V’s female part. I do not think you can find many actresses willing to shave their hair off anyway. Acting as their counterpart and the supreme chancellor is “John Hurt”, who interestingly enough played as a regular citizen being oppressed in “1984”. This movie has a lot in common with “1984” and other dystopian movies, but it is not a ripoff, as most of them are inspired by the writings of George Orwell.