My husband often travels to the West Coast and has found the long flights pass more quickly when he takes along rented movies to watch. Generally, he tries to pick movies that I don’t care about seeing…you know, those violent "guy" films where I cover my eyes for half the film. Occasionally, however, we misjudge a particular film and he comes home saying "you would love this one." Since we have been together for almost 26 years, he knows me pretty well. Because of that, I trust him when he says I will like it…so far, he hasn’t been wrong.
That is exactly what happened with the film we watched last night. I had absolutely no interest in seeing the movie "V for Vendetta," assuming it was a violent revenge movie. However, once again, he was right. It was incredible! In fact, it may be one of the best films I’ve seen in a long time. It is a political thriller with frightening overtones from current events. It is all about the politics of fear and about the freedom that comes when fear is overcome. There is certainly violence in it, but violence is not the heart of the movie. The story is about control; specifically, what we allow to control us. As I said, there are elements within the story that are especially terrifying because of how they resemble some of the trends we have seen in our world in recent years. The line that I used to title this post was especially chilling…I won’t tell you more!
Anyway, I would highly recommend this film. For those of you who, like me, don’t care for violent films, I promise the bit of violence in this film is worth it because of the quality of the story. And, Natalie Portman deserves an Oscar for her portrayal of Evey. She was brilliant! If you have seen it, or when you see it, let me know what you think!
This seemed like it was going to be one of those movies that my wife wouldn’t like as well (and she tends to go to bed so early that she hasn’t seen it yet). So, as if often the case, I ended up watching it one night well after she and my daughter had gone to bed.
I have to agree with you and say that I really liked it, too. It would be difficult for me to break it into exact reasons why — the acting, the story, the scenery; all of it played into a great story. It takes a really good movie for me to even consider buying it for my collection, but I definitely think this is going to make the cut.
– Matt