V for Vandetta Movie Review

The movie, V for Vendetta, is based off the 1988 CD/Vertigo comic. It depicts a dystopian world where the England government uses fear to convince the citizens of England to blindly and silently fallow the government. A man named V knows, like many others, of the government’s overbearing power, but only he has the will and the courage to publicly verbalize the inhumane government treatment and start a revolution. Through the movie’s characters and audio, V for Vendetta is a dark, gruesome, and thrilling work of fiction that has the audience cheering for a masked man to succeed in his plot to bomb parliament.

The story is seen through the point of view of the ruthless, determined man V and a fearful woman Evey. They both oppose the liberty draining government, but Evey, unlike V, is too scared to voice her position. James McTeigue, the director of the film, shows the rolls of the characters though the characters’ apparel. The powerful members of the government wear black suits and their faces are exposed. This gives the government officials an appearance of power and shows how they do not fear the people; they own the people. This is an effective way of turning the viewer against the government. V, played by Hugo Weaving, wears a black cape, a hat, and a Guy Fawkes mask, and he arms himself with swords. This persona portrays him exactly as it should: a merciless, fearless vigilante. At first, his disguise mystifies the audience as they are unsure of their opinion on V, but this bewilderment is quickly abolished when V rescues Evey from the finger men and delivers his vivid speech. After this scene, the audience sides with V, and they want him to achieve his ambition. Lastly, there is Evey. At the beginning of the movie, she dresses as a typical working woman. By dressing her in this fashion, the viewer sees her as a representation of the rest of England’s society: frightened and suppressed.

The audio gives the movie an overall dark feel and leans the viewer to appreciate V’s goal and resent the government. In the beginning of the film, V demolishes the Old Bailey. In this scene an entire orchestra is playing energetic music that would often be heard around the climax a movie. This mix of strings and percussion entices the audience feel like this demolition is not an act of terrorism, but an act that would start a revolution and persuades them to believe in V’s aim. During the government meetings, quiet, eerie, sinister string music played barely noticeably in the background. This music allured the audience to disapprove of the government’s system of cover up. Furthermore, throughout the movie, the music was a combination of only strings, drums, and percussion. This choice of musical style gives the audio an ominous aura, which places the audience in a frightened state. This helps the audience relate to the citizens of England, which assists them in understanding V’s objective: liberty.