V for Vendetta

—1. Overview
—2. Cast and Crew
—3. Photo Pages
—4. Trailers, Clips, DVDs, Books, Soundtrack
—5. Posters (Natalie Portman)
—6. Production Notes (pdf)
—7. Spiritual Connections
—8. Presentation Downloads

V for Vexed by Vociferous Voices

By Mark Ezra Stokes

What is it that intrigues me about a masked vigilante who tortures young girls and ignites national monuments, as if doing so were just as common as retrieving two-percent milk from the dairy section of one’s local grocery store? Why is it that, weeks after my initial viewing of V for Vendetta, I’m still thinking about the always-smiling anti-hero whose horrific acts are equaled only by his noble character?

I suppose I could say that such an obsession is characteristic of letting views that differ from my own enter my weak and fragile mind. But that answer doesn’t seem to satisfy me. Because I know that many encounters with divergent views have been real faith-strengtheners—either by solidifying my current view or by bringing awareness of my current misconception.

Before I travel further into this late-night cogitation, let’s catch those of you who have yet to be introduced to this Orwellian world up to speed. V for Vendetta (rated R for strong violence and some language) is based on the acclaimed graphic novel by Alan Moore (though he’s gone to great lengths to make sure his name isn’t attached to the project). The story is set in London in the not-too-distant future, where a totalitarian government controls its citizens with an iron fist—all in the name of protecting their liberties. The character known as “V” decides that he will play Robin Hood (if Robin Hood were to wear a Guy Fawkes mask, and have heavy explosives and impressive ninja skills), and that he will bring the power back to the common people. In this pursuit of liberation, he finds and liberates Evey, a regular citizen being hassled by a group of frisky-fingered policemen. V takes Evey under his wing and works to gain her trust in the fight against oppression.

Obviously, this story from the early ‘80s is a great opportunity for someone to make comparisons with the current political climate in America, and screenwriters/producers Andy and Larry Wachowsky (of Matrix fame) seem to take advantage of that. Countless film critics have harped on this aspect ad nauseum. But political overtones don’t intrigue me particularly. In fact, I find the whole concept of party allegiance to be foolish—no more appealing to me than allegiance to the Crips or the Bloods. But we promised not to harp on politics, didn’t we? Soapbox aside: What intrigues me about V?

I’d say it's his self-perception. His good intentions. His dementia. His inability to be dismissed as “just another bad guy.” V intrigues me, because V is the kind of person I was sent into this world to meet. Christ said it best to the Pharisees when he stated, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” (Matthew 9:12) V is definitely one sick puppy.

And perhaps what echoes most after the film’s end is the collective cry of my Christian brethren who feel morally obligated to warn against this Hollywood-propelled attack on your sensibilities, or the previous attack on your sensibilities, or the sensibility-attack that is sure to come tomorrow. I’m all for being informed prior to a questionable experience, but is it healthy for a child of an omniscient deity to live his or her life in paranoia, coiled to strike those whose ideals are decidedly different from our own? Is our battle against flesh and blood? Are we called to avoid the world, Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria? Was the Son of God called into the world to condemn the world?

If Christians are called to complete separation, how are the tortured souls outside of our quarantined quarters expected to not take the measures taken by V (whose “Christian” government was anything but)? Yes, God can touch those souls without the aid of His children, but is that not a sign of laziness on our part—of a complacency that attempts to cover our own stagnancy by stinking up the air with the red herrings of hair-splitting and self-serving piety?

These are questions I ask myself as I ponder the three-dimensionality of V. I’ve often scratched my head as to why I’m so obsessed with homelessness—as to why I dream of visiting insane asylums and death rows for extended periods of time. In V lies the answer.

As a Christian, I can’t help but be attracted to V. No, it’s not his eloquent speech (which is quite literary and well-written). No, it’s not his leftist ideals (you know my aversion to politics). I’m attracted to his sickness—his being a person who has really good intentions, but who doesn’t seem to grasp the whole picture. And I don’t say this as a put-down to merely feel superior over him. I say this because V, a genuinely intelligent being capable of good, is like many of my friends who need a Great Physician, but who only find bumbling, medieval apothecaries, all too eager to amputate limbs.

Christian philosopher Blaise Pascal once said, “I do not admire the excess of some one virtue unless I am shewn at the same time the excess of the opposite virtue. A man does not prove his greatness by standing at an extremity, but by touching both extremities at once and filling all that lies between them.”

V for Vendetta is a wonderfully-crafted showcase of extremities. As human beings, it will be tempting for us to jump to the aid of the film’s mistreated, fictional government, or we may be just as tempted to don a Guy Fawkes mask and fight for the cause of anarchy. My prayer is that we will have the wisdom and discernment to find something in-between, and to reach out to both extremes with compassion akin to Christ’s.

— Overview