9th November 2015
V for Vendetta Review
By James Lennox
Introduction
This film covers many telling themes, namely fears of totalitarian governments in the
future.
Plot
The year is 2020 the world is chaos as the deadly St. Mary's virus sweeps the world; the
U.S. is in a state of civil war.
The U.K. is the only stable nation ruled by the Norsefire party a fascist party that controls
all aspects of life; any and all opposition is stamped out.
Norsefire places all perceived "undesirables" into camps and detention centres. The only
form of resistance to this tyranny is a masked vigilanty named simply ‘V’. He dresses in a
Guy Fawkes mask and believes the commemoration of the fifth of November should be
celebrated. The government believes ‘V’ is a terrorist due to his blowing up of the Old
Bailey the pervious Guy Fawkes Night.
‘V’ the main protagonist is played by Hugo Weaving (other credits include "Lord of the
Rings") and The High Chancellor Adam Subtler, the main antagonist, is played by John
Hurt ("Merlin")
The film was directed by James Mateague and was written by the Wachoski Brothers, the
film is an adaptation of a 1998 graphic novel of the same name.
Symbolism
One of the first and recurring symbols seen throughout the film is a circle with a ‘V’ in the
middle of it, this is everywhere and often seen in red. This helps to drive home the
importance of the symbol to the narrative of the plot; it is also a symbol of the protagonist
‘V’ and is a symbol of revolution and resistance to the government. As the film progresses
it reoccurs more often as more people take heed of ‘V's’ message.
There is also a symbol of rebirth and baptism for the two main protagonists ‘V’ and ‘Evey’,
one through fire and one through water, both these baptisms have contrasting effects on
the individuals that go though them. ‘V’ who was reborn by fire has become vengeful and
angry whereas ‘Evey’ who has been reborn though rain, having been cleansed and
purified of all thought of evil. The Guy Fawkes mask worn by ‘V’ and later any rebels to the
regime, the mask is worn by ‘V’ out of necessity due to his injuries, however it is later worn
by all the protester on the march on Parliament symbolizing it's importance to the
resistance. ‘Evey’s’ quote "he was all of us" implies that he could have been anyone and
that the idea of change is what the mask truly symbolizes.
Camera technique
In the scene where Chancellor first appears speaking to high ranking officials within his
party the camera technique helps us understand a great deal, firstly, many medium to
close and close-up shots are used with very few long-shots, this is to set the scene and
show the changes made to the English flag which has been changed from the red and
white of St George to black and red to symbolizes the dark atmosphere in the country at
the time. The Chancellor is often shown in close-ups and with the camera angle pointing
down. This is to show the supreme power Subtler holds over the country. When he
addresses Mr. Creedy he is the only member of cabinet to appear out of shadow, this is to
emphasize that he is the most ruthless member of the Norsefire government. This also
shows his conflict of ideas with Subtler.
Impact
The cultural, social and political impact of ‘V’ for Vendetta is very important as well as
historically, taking its inspiration from the gunpowder plot of 1605.
The film popularizes the Guy Fawkes mask as a symbol and object of modern protests
against capitalism, freedom of speech and what I call freedom of media. The hacktavist
group Anonymous takes inspiration from the film by adopting the mask during protests.
The mask gives all protesters a symbol to unite behind when they express their ideals.