Dear Wachowskis - are you sitting comfortably? - you're fired.
So, we saw V for Vendetta...
In a word: BAH!
In a few words: In a thing of itself, I suppose it is quite good. A little heavy-handed, a little clumsy here and there, a little too high-blown, but with some good performances, strong themes and beautiful visuals. As a rendition of the comic book, it is bloody filthy butchery, and it's hard not to feel a little violated.
The major problem is that I had one - only ONE - big fear about how this movie may adapt. I was willing to accept just about anything but this one thing. And then they built the whole fucking movie around it.
V is not human. Evey does not save him. He does not need to be saved. There is nothing to save. He does not fall for her. He does not draw her through her fear to help her grow. He does not do ANYTHING for ANY REASON other than that it tends towards his end. He plucks Evey off the street and he uses her and he manipulates her and he carves her into his perfect tool.*(see footnote)
He is evil. He is something full of horror. And he is right and he is our saviour, and THAT is the uncompromising truth at the centre of this story, as far as I'm concerned. It is what drives this story right through me and keeps it with me. It is everything that moves me about it.
And they fucked it right in the ear. They made him a person, and they gave him uncertainty and fallibility and hesitation and weakness. He has none of those things, he has only keen, straight, deadly purpose. He is a knife. There is no V but that which drives him! He is certainly not the second fucking coming of the fucking Phantom of the fucking Opera!
Sorry. I'm a little angry about this. And I'm the lenient one when it comes to adaptations. You should hear the swearing jag the Male's been on for the past half hour. He actually thought about walking out of the movie. Though his personal view does not quite match mine - we have length arguments about the intricacies of V's characters - we are matched in our disappointment with the screen version.
Aside from that One Big Point:
I was saddened by the mutilation and/or leaving out of the two best speeches in the whole thing - V's one-sided discussion with Madam Justice, and what he actually said to the people of London when he took over the televisions. I understand that there are different requirements/limitations to the medium change, etc, etc, etc. I understand that they changed the history and subplots in order to keep the political side of things relevant. I missed Rose a lot, but understand that she had to go. But they left out so much good shit. The little stuff, like V's whimsicality (greeting the Bishop with, "Please allow me to introduce myself; I'm a man of wealth and taste..."). The larger stuff, like Evey's weaknesses, her prostitution, her relationship with Gordon, her youth and innocence and the things that enable V to shape her like bonsai. The big stuff, like what he does shape her into, and the grand finale of the comic (which takes my breath away for many reasons, and - IMHO - shits all over the movie finale).
The movie may very well be a well done, rousing, moving and crafted vision. I did enjoy it in places - V's "knife-time", Valerie's story and Evey's imprisonment all, the poignant beauty of Delia's death. Though, completely independent of source, I had a "WTF?!" moment at the sudden mass arrival of a few thousand pacifist V clones. Ah, grand melodrama; so much more interesting than reality.
I know you all (mostly) enjoyed it, and I actually really wanted to do so as well. But at the moment, I am having trouble seeing past the hacked corpses of beloved things. I do urge you all to read the graphic novel, because it is uncompromising, and it is jaw-dropping. It is dark and horrible and gives no easy answers.
I've been eager for six months for this. But I cannot fan this movie. This is not my V.
And that's my unpopular fandom opinion of the month.
* This is also, of course, open to debate, like so much about good, complex, intricate stories, of which Vendetta is certainly one. In the comic, when Evey demands of V why he put her through the whole fake imprisonment, he replies, "Because I love you." BUT, I believe, based on the evidence of the rest of his character and the events of the story, that he does not - is not capable thereof - and this is just another manipulation. I both hate and love V. He is an amazing psychopath; single-minded, ruthless and entirely selfless. He is a intricate thing of brilliance, which is why it makes me so very, very angry to see him gutted and stuffed in that movie.
ETA: I'm not saying it's a shit movie, I'm just saying that due to the ways in which it deviates fundamentally from the graphic novel, especially in characterisation, I was unable to enjoy it fully. I think it's great that so many people did enjoy it. (However, if you're all about V's humanity and his beautiful relationship with Evey... maybe you shouldn't read the book. Just saying.)
In a word: BAH!
In a few words: In a thing of itself, I suppose it is quite good. A little heavy-handed, a little clumsy here and there, a little too high-blown, but with some good performances, strong themes and beautiful visuals. As a rendition of the comic book, it is bloody filthy butchery, and it's hard not to feel a little violated.
The major problem is that I had one - only ONE - big fear about how this movie may adapt. I was willing to accept just about anything but this one thing. And then they built the whole fucking movie around it.
V is not human. Evey does not save him. He does not need to be saved. There is nothing to save. He does not fall for her. He does not draw her through her fear to help her grow. He does not do ANYTHING for ANY REASON other than that it tends towards his end. He plucks Evey off the street and he uses her and he manipulates her and he carves her into his perfect tool.*(see footnote)
He is evil. He is something full of horror. And he is right and he is our saviour, and THAT is the uncompromising truth at the centre of this story, as far as I'm concerned. It is what drives this story right through me and keeps it with me. It is everything that moves me about it.
And they fucked it right in the ear. They made him a person, and they gave him uncertainty and fallibility and hesitation and weakness. He has none of those things, he has only keen, straight, deadly purpose. He is a knife. There is no V but that which drives him! He is certainly not the second fucking coming of the fucking Phantom of the fucking Opera!
Sorry. I'm a little angry about this. And I'm the lenient one when it comes to adaptations. You should hear the swearing jag the Male's been on for the past half hour. He actually thought about walking out of the movie. Though his personal view does not quite match mine - we have length arguments about the intricacies of V's characters - we are matched in our disappointment with the screen version.
Aside from that One Big Point:
I was saddened by the mutilation and/or leaving out of the two best speeches in the whole thing - V's one-sided discussion with Madam Justice, and what he actually said to the people of London when he took over the televisions. I understand that there are different requirements/limitations to the medium change, etc, etc, etc. I understand that they changed the history and subplots in order to keep the political side of things relevant. I missed Rose a lot, but understand that she had to go. But they left out so much good shit. The little stuff, like V's whimsicality (greeting the Bishop with, "Please allow me to introduce myself; I'm a man of wealth and taste..."). The larger stuff, like Evey's weaknesses, her prostitution, her relationship with Gordon, her youth and innocence and the things that enable V to shape her like bonsai. The big stuff, like what he does shape her into, and the grand finale of the comic (which takes my breath away for many reasons, and - IMHO - shits all over the movie finale).
The movie may very well be a well done, rousing, moving and crafted vision. I did enjoy it in places - V's "knife-time", Valerie's story and Evey's imprisonment all, the poignant beauty of Delia's death. Though, completely independent of source, I had a "WTF?!" moment at the sudden mass arrival of a few thousand pacifist V clones. Ah, grand melodrama; so much more interesting than reality.
I know you all (mostly) enjoyed it, and I actually really wanted to do so as well. But at the moment, I am having trouble seeing past the hacked corpses of beloved things. I do urge you all to read the graphic novel, because it is uncompromising, and it is jaw-dropping. It is dark and horrible and gives no easy answers.
I've been eager for six months for this. But I cannot fan this movie. This is not my V.
And that's my unpopular fandom opinion of the month.
* This is also, of course, open to debate, like so much about good, complex, intricate stories, of which Vendetta is certainly one. In the comic, when Evey demands of V why he put her through the whole fake imprisonment, he replies, "Because I love you." BUT, I believe, based on the evidence of the rest of his character and the events of the story, that he does not - is not capable thereof - and this is just another manipulation. I both hate and love V. He is an amazing psychopath; single-minded, ruthless and entirely selfless. He is a intricate thing of brilliance, which is why it makes me so very, very angry to see him gutted and stuffed in that movie.
ETA: I'm not saying it's a shit movie, I'm just saying that due to the ways in which it deviates fundamentally from the graphic novel, especially in characterisation, I was unable to enjoy it fully. I think it's great that so many people did enjoy it. (However, if you're all about V's humanity and his beautiful relationship with Evey... maybe you shouldn't read the book. Just saying.)