Jamie passion and passionfruit!

A strange and yet very powerful film set in a futuristic Britain ruled over by the High Chancellor Adam Sutler (John Hurt), in which the country is fed a diet of lies from state television and the people are subjected to a totalitarian rule of military like politicians and the rich business elite.  In this context emerges V, an individual who wears a mask and exercises terrorism against the state because he has a genuine reason for revenge after being the victim of state persecution and experimentation in the past.  He sets about killing his former opressors and sowing a fair deal of chaos by taking out a few top government buildings in the course of it (Guy Fawkes is his chief reference point) and appropriating the main TV channel at one point to tell the people what is really going on.  There are inevitable similarities to various states today and the behaviour that certain nations are engaged in to circumscribe public rights in order to fight against perceived enemies.  V’s companion during the film is Evie, daughter of social protesters who lost their lives in repression earlier on, leaving her as a prime cause for both official suspicion and recruitment to the terrorist cause.  The main thrust of her role is more to do with her being the only person to be able to breach the mask (albeit not literally) of V.  Natalie Portman’s innocent and yet curious manner makes her an ideal actress for this role, accompanying Hugo Weaving as V.  Among the other stars are Stephen Rea as the Chief Inspector trying to catch the terrorist, whose own misgivings about the regime emerge during the investigation.  Stephen Fry as an entertainer who is a favourite of the regime but who has his own agenda is also a feature.  It is great to see Hurt back on screen. So, James McTeigue does a good job directing this film by the Wachowskis of the Matrix fame.  The script an story is first rate (Wachowski Bros) and good dark photography and music give the film a suitable sci-fi mood.  Lots to think about in the movie and well worth a look.  And best of all it is an excellent adaptation of a comic book.

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