In the 80's, Alan Moore & David Lloyd had crafted the political thriller, V For Vendetta, which made its way to DC Comics at the end of the decade as a miniseries, later collected in trade paperback. More than 20 years later, the story found its way to Hollywood, but Moore, disenchanted by studio executives' mishandling of earlier works, such as "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", chose not to accept screen credit for the adaptation. The same would apply to "Watchmen" 3 years later.
V (Hugo Weaving), his true face hidden behind a mask of Guy Fawkes, wages his crusade against the men who disfigured him, rallying the disenfranchised of futuristic London behind him. His closest ally is Evey (Natalie Portman), a working class girl he rescues from a potential gang rape one night. Considering how Evey would eventually shave her head, I had thought she'd eventually put on a Fawkes mask and at least join V's followers. Instead, she's his eyes & ears.
"V For Vendetta" recalls, as V himself notes, Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo. The love story that gradually develops between the disfigured V and Evey would suggest Beauty & The Beast. There are also elements of The Phantom of the Opera, though I must confess I wouldn't have noticed. V's charismatic presence would also suggest a post-modern Robin Hood or Zorro, railing against the fascist, totalitarian state England has become in the context of this story. No mention of the royal family, which suggests that perhaps the Queen had perished. Moore & Lloyd never really addressed it at all.
I can understand Moore's trepidation with the film. It doesn't capture the atmosphere that Lloyd had created artistically, and trying to cram the story into 2 hours and change doesn't do it justice.
Here's the trailer:
Rating: C.
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