Film post #4 V for Vendetta

"People should not fear their government, the government should fear its people." - V

'V for Vendetta' (2005) is a great film, but it leaves you feeling unsettled and uneasy. The 'hero' of the tale is morally grey. He is a freedom fighter, but he is also out for vengeance. His treatment of the female protagonist Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman), in order to make her in his own image, is frankly horrific. For V the ends justify the means.

V is played brilliantly by Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith in the Matrix). As a prisoner in an experimental facility, he experienced untold sufferings as many of his co-captives were killed. However, during a fire he managed to escape. Badly burnt he remodelled himself as V, donning a Guy Fawkes mask, and planning to topple the regime. "For 20 years, I sought only this day. Nothing else existed...

The film explores themes of fear and control; and revolution and hope. The world it occupies is a dark dystopia. The United Kingdom is run by a totalitarian government, to whom the people of the UK have handed over their freedoms in order to feel safe in a dangerous world. This government with its mantra - "Strength through Unity. Unity through Faith" - has brutally outlawed Islam and homosexuality. However, the government is essentially one man: the High Chancellor, Adam Sutler (John Hurt); and as his power is threatened, he becomes increasingly frantic.

The film is interesting because it raises the question - who is responsible for the dystopia that has been created? Is it the people's fear and apathy? Or is it a manipulative power-hungry man? V's conclusion is unsettling:

"Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now high chancellor, Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent." 

Made in a post 9-11 world, 'V for Vendetta' seems to be saying: be careful, you do not make the same mistake. Do not hand over your freedoms. Do not allow your government to single out groups of people as scape-goats. Hold your government accountable. Do not allow fear to be your guiding principle.

A gospel perspective?

The brutality and claustrophobia of the regime means that we are relieved as V succeeds. However, the film leaves us in a murky world. It is a broken world that needs more than freedom, it needs restoration. As a story it feels incomplete. The people released from a dark malevolent power, but they are left to fix the mess. And to be honest, we are not certain they will make a good job of it. They may be free from fear, but in the absence of order will they be able to restore the country?

V for Vendetta, like most human stories, has echoes of the ultimate narrative: the story of God's world. Like V's plan, the gospel brings freedom from darkness, but that is where the comparison ends. God wonderfully rescues, but he also brings us out into a new kingdom - a kingdom of light (Colossians 1v12). A kingdom that is lovingly and wisely ruled.

"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves..." (Colossians 1:13) 

The film is right - fear is a big problem. God releases us from fear of punishment (1 John 4:18), and he releases us from fear of death (Hebrews 2:15), but fear is not the ultimate problem. It is a symptom of the deeper issue of sinfulness. Colossians goes on to say of Jesus"...in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."  (Colossians 1:14). Sin is the tyrant which causes our deaths, and Jesus is the liberator who brings real life.