V for Vendetta (2005)

Evey : Who are you?
V: Who? Who is but the form following the function of what and what I am is a man in a mask.
Evey : Well I can see that.
V: Of course you can. I'm not questioning your powers of observation; I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is.
Evey : Oh, right.
V: But on this most auspicious of nights, permit me then, in lieu of the more commonplace sobriquet, to suggest the character of this dramatist persona.
V: Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin van-guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.

Based on Alan Moore's graphic novel, V for Vendetta is a tale of an oppressive futuristic society in Britain where one man vows to raise the lethargic and fearful masses against the tyranny of the state on November 5th, the day that marks the anniversary of Guy Fawke's failed attempt to blow up the Parliament.

When Evey (Natalie Portman) is stopped and harassed by men of the state on a night of curfew, V (Hugo Weaving) comes to her rescue and makes her privy to his intentions of bringing about a revolution a year from then on the night of November the 5th. Evey, herself the daughter of two political activists who were killed by the state, returns the favor by helping V escape from the police and in the process becomes a target herself. We soon get to know the tragic story behind our masked hero as he sets himself upon the task of  eliminating, one by one, all the people responsible for his fate. His ultimate goal though is to free Britain from the clutches of its hate-mongering chancellor, Sutler (John Hurt), and his manipulative second-in-command, Creedy (Tim-Piggot Smith). As the police get closer on their pursuit of this masked vigilante, more details unravel about the identity of V and we see he as at least one sympathizer in officer Finch (Stephen Rea).

V cuts out a tragic figure while he feels the parallels between his own life and that of Edmond Dante, the protagonist of The Count of Monte Cristo (the greatest revenge story ever told). Even though Evey can't help falling in love with him, she is wary she might herself end up like Mercedes - Dante's love-interest for whom Dante cared less than his need for revenge. In one of the scenes we see V justifying his ways by remarking that what was done to him was "monstrous", while Evey completes his statement by saying "and they created a monster".

Is there any look that doesn't suit her?

With an ending that is not entirely a happy one, this movie is not an experience that you'll forget for some time. With a script by the Wachowski brothers, you can be fairly certain there's more to it than meets the eye. Just like their Matrix Trilogy, this is a movie about ideas. Although released way back in 2005, this could very well be a prophetic social commentary, and a call to the youth of the Wiki-leaks generation. Going back to the opening lines of the movie, We are told to remember the idea, not the man, because a man can fail. He can be caught, he can be killed and forgotten, but 400 years later, an idea can still change the world. 

Rating: 9/10