V For Vendetta (2005) Dir: James McTeigue
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Strictly speaking, I have seen this dystopian political thriller before, however, it's been so long that I honestly don't remember much of it. The film is directed by James McTeigue, written and produced by the Wachowski sisters, and based on the comic series by Alan Moore. All of these names certainly make for enticing reading, and, from what I do recall of the film, a good story.
The film has some great visuals, thanks to a mixture of practical effects, set design and some cleverly created visual effects, which still look pretty good almost twenty years later. I really like the costume design too, particularly the mask, which is as emblematic as it is iconic.
A story so clearly influenced by George Orwell's '1984', which is by no means a bad thing, and featuring many of the same themes; anti-facism, identity, power, truth, etc. The film is draped in a banner of fascism versus anarchism, and built upon the foundations of a very real piece of history.
I think Natalie Portman's performance was an interesting one. I wouldn't say it's among her best, however, I still very much enjoyed it. I thought she had some really powerful scenes in the second half of the film in particular, where both she and her character seemed to pick up dramatically.
Hugo Weaving may have spent the duration of the film under a mask, but his performance was excellently animated. I think his greatest strength was his immaculate delivery of dialogue, which was both eloquent and precise. This was yet another iconic role for Weaving.
The supporting cast was full of familiar faces from British film and television, including the talented Stephen Fry, John Hurt, Tim Piggott-Smith and Rupert Graves, who all gave very solid performances. Of these, my favourite performances came from Fry and Hurt, who had some great scenes - especially Hurt.
Of the list of supporting actors, the most substantial performance, however, came from Stephen Rea, whose role was more important than I has expected and remembered. His acting was fairly good, and while I wasn't blown away by him, he certainly did enough to carry his character arc steadily.
Overall, I have to say I really enjoy the vast majority of this film. It carries a strong anti-fascist message, which is always good, and has some strong acting. I guess it could've been slightly shorter, but that's not that big a deal. This is a great piece of British cinema, and one well worth watching, especially in autumn.
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